Butler Fred froze in his steps upon hearing this.He turned and fixed his crazed gaze disdainfully on Luna's face. "To be frank, your father, mother, brother, and even your husband are all clever. You're the only idiot in the family."He sneered and continued, "Do you honestly think I didn't notice how strangely you were behaving that day? Or did you somehow think that your mother's drug warehouse—filled with some of the most dangerous poisons in the world—would be so easy to break into? If Mickey were so easily defeated, the drug warehouse would've been broken into plenty of times by now."Luna could not help clenching her fists upon hearing this, digging her nails into her palms. "So I'm right, aren't I? You and Charlotte have been in on it all along, right?"Butler Fred snickered. "Of course. If it weren't for me, how would Charlotte have known to target you, the most naive person in the family? How would she have known to use the children to threaten you into getting her what s
"Your lack of self-restraint and inability to say no make me realize that I'm unable to trust you again."Rosalyn turned to glance at Joshua and said, "We will try to compile all the evidence we have at hand of their crimes and send them to the police station, where their fate will be decided by justice. As for avenging your grandmother's death…"Rosalyn let out an exhale. "Feel free to use any method you see fit to take revenge for your grandmother's murder. No matter what you choose, I won't interfere in your decision, but…"She curled her lips into a smirk. "If you want to get your hands on some of the poison that led to your grandmother's death, I'll be happy to help you out.""Thank you, Mother-in-law." Joshua smiled upon hearing this.Finally, he glanced at the stack of paper on the table and picked them up. As he thumbed through the documents, he shot Jim an impassive glance and said, "Jim, I'm really curious as to know where all these came from. Did… Did you really use the
"What you're saying is…" After a long moment of silence, Charles lifted his head to stare intently at Jim's face. "When you first started working for Landry Group, you were brainwashed by Butler Fred and Mickey into committing these acts of treachery?"He furrowed his eyebrows and added, "But even though it was seven or eight years ago, Rosalyn and I had still treated you well, hadn't we, Jim? If so, why would you be persuaded by Butler Fred into betraying our family? Besides, even if he had successfully talked you into doing these, what happened after that?"Charles raised his uninjured hand and snatched the documents out of Jim's hand. There was a hint of fury in his wizened gaze as he glared at Jim. "All these papers show that the companies registered under your name are still in business until now. Not only that, but they're becoming more and more successful by the day!"Rosalyn and I can understand when you say you were brainwashed and didn't know better. After all, every one o
Butler Fred furrowed his brows in confusion, clearly unsure of what Mickey was about to do, either. "You…""I never knew that you were the one who killed my mother." Mickey lifted his head to fixate his vengeful gaze on his father's face. "You've always told me that my grandpa, grandma, and mother all died in a fire."You claim that they had died because of their lack of awareness of fire safety and even told me that the only reason we survived was that they had deliberately chased us out of their barbecue party."Every time the thought of my mother or other relatives popped into my head, I'd be filled with hatred and resentment. I had gone so many years thinking that they deserved to die because of their stupidity and arrogance…until now."His cold, steely gaze was filled with hatred. "It was only after Joshua exposed the truth about your past that I finally found out…not only were you the one who killed my mother and grandparents, but you even twisted the truth and made me think
"Well…"Jim lifted his head to meet Charles' gaze head-on. "I realized that even though the companies I owned outside of Landry Group were small, they brought in considerable income for me."I wanted to stand on my own feet by building my career while helping run Landry Group at the same time."Charles narrowed his eyes and sneered upon hearing this. "And why is that? Do you somehow think that Landry Group isn't good enough for you anymore?""Not at all." Jim leaned against the back of his chair lazily and explained, "I just knew exactly where I stood. Even though Mother had always treated me as her own for many years, I knew full well that this wouldn't change the fact that I'm not her son, and that I don't have the right to inherit Landry Group. Therefore, no matter how hard I worked, none of this would be mine."He curled his lips into a bitter smile. "Initially, I thought Heather was your daughter, but unfortunately, she was not at all suitable to take over Landry Group, which
Luna, too, was stunned by this sudden revelation.Never, not even in her wildest dreams, had she thought that Jim would be hiding so much from them.It made sense why Jim, when the Landry family was going through their toughest times, had so confidently told her that even if they went broke, he would be able to take them in.He had been preparing for this moment for a long time."Jim never revealed the extent of his assets because he had been thinking of us all along…" said Rosalyn, sighing, her head lowered as she continued wrapping gauze around Charles' wound. "This was why Butler Fred had taken advantage of the situation and collected so much incriminating evidence that led us to think Jim had betrayed us…"She let out another sigh and finally lifted her head to stare at Jim with a relieved look. "You never disappoint, my dear son."A surge of warmth spread through Jim's heart when he heard these.She…called him her dear son.Did this mean that…not only had she forgiven him,
"You don't have to blame yourself for what happened to Bonnie, Mother," Jim interrupted Rosalyn before she could even finish her sentence.His gaze became distant as he continued, "I know that you were the one who produced the poison that landed Bonnie in this coma."Yesterday…I went to visit Nikki at the police station in secret, and she revealed that my mother Lucy had intended to use this poison to take her life."After coming out of the police station, I investigated the clinic from which Lucy got the poison, and I discovered that…the doctor who gave her the drug was a friend of yours."He turned to stare at Rosalyn. "You were the one who produced the drug, weren't you, Mother?"He let out a bitter chuckle and added, "I should've guessed. Who else in Merchant City would be capable of producing such a lethal poison apart from you, Mother?"Still, you had no idea that the doctor had requested this poison from you on Lucy's behalf, and you didn't know that Lucy would have a chan
"I'm sure Luna will be able to handle this." Charles sighed and glanced at Luna.Finally, he turned to stare meaningfully at Butler Fred and Mickey, who were both restrained by the servants. "Send them to the police station and take care of this."The servants nodded before bringing the two prisoners away.Just as Butler Fred and Mickey reached the door, Luna hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Wait."She remained motionless and stared at them through narrowed eyes. "There's one more thing I need to say, not only to you but to my parents and Jim, too, and that is…"She let out an exhale. "I'm not going to take over the family business. I never have, and I never will."The idea of taking over such a large-scale business has never once crossed my mind. I've always known that Jim would be the most suitable person to take up this responsibility."Therefore, I had been lying to all of you when I admitted to being the future heir of the Landry family business."As she said
At that, he looked at Gwen. "Actually…"Steven found himself unable to finish his sentence. After a long while, he shook his head and smiled. "Forget about it.""Steven…" Gwen looked at him, and her tears fell.Her heart was not made of stone. How could she not know Steven's feelings toward her?She was silent for a long while. In the end, she stood up and slowly walked over to Steven with arms opened wide. "Give me a hug."Steven hesitated for a while, but he still stood up.They hugged."Gwen." Steven hugged her thin figure. "I have to meet you earlier in the next life so I can compete fairly with my brother."Gwen nodded with tears streaming down her face. "Okay."They thus hugged once more. Minutes later…"He's gone," said Stefan.Tears kept falling.They hugged for a while longer before pulling apart. Gwen looked at Stefan with her tear-stricken face. He had tears on his face as well.She bit her lips and reached out to wipe his tears. "A—Are these tears…yours or his?
The next day, Rachel flew from Merchant City to Sharnwick City to diagnose Anne's condition. Theo tagged along as well because he had another identity, Rachel's boyfriend."According to the report, Anne's condition is slowly recuperating." Rachel was relieved after assessing the report. "Although she is very weak, she is going to get better with lots of rest."There is nothing wrong with her vocal cords too. It could be a psychological thing that makes her lose her voice. A knot in her heart that causes it." She looked at Luna, then at John. "Considering all factors, I think that knot is Luna."Rachel continued, "John, I know Luna is the root cause of all these bad things. Being away from Luna, Joshua, and other people is going to guarantee a safer life for you and your family. But have you thought about it from Anne's point of view? Other than you and Sammie, she has her own life and her circle of friends. Never has she blamed Luna for what happened, yet you forced her to leave Lun
It was almost a miracle for Anne to willingly leave the house just to visit him!Robyn, meanwhile, sobbed at the sight.The nurse who accompanied Anne to the ward was puzzled. What was going on with these people?She snuck her phone out of her pocket and took a photo of this surreptitiously. Then, she sent it into the nurse's group chat with the caption, [What a strange family I met today.]The nurses in the group chat began gossiping about this. One of them tagged a fellow nurse named Daisy and said, [Hey, isn't this the guy who saved the old man you're looking after? What a hero!]Daisy was, at this moment, walking into Andy's room to help him change his wound dressing. She saw the message but was not able to type on her keyboard to respond, so she recorded a voice message instead. "Yes, that's the man. What's wrong with his family? What are you guys talking about?"As soon as she finished her sentence, she lifted her head and finally realized that Andy was not there.Instead,
Anne stared at John for a long time before forcibly smiling and told him in sign language, "Robyn didn't return after so long, so I got worried and came by to check on her.""Daddy, Aunt Robyn, are you two hugging?" Sammie asked, blinking innocently as she raised her head in curiosity.John and Robyn turned pale at this.It was understandable for such a young child like Sammie to misinterpret them as hugging, but what would Anne think of this?John leaped off the bed and staggered toward Anne. "Anne, it's just a misunderstanding…"However, he was still so weak that his legs could not hold up the full weight of his body at all, and he almost crumpled to the ground.Quick-witted Robyn managed to catch him before he could fall, but this gesture appeared once again rather intimate to both Anne and Sammie. Sammie furrowed her brow and asked rather indignantly, "Are you hugging again? Daddy, how can you hug Aunt Robyn like this when you've never even hugged Mommy and me like this befor
When the nurse pushed Anne to John's ward, she overheard John and Robyn fighting from the door. The fight was about how John was anxious to return home because he was worried about Anne and Sammie.However, as someone who used to work as a nurse, Robyn knew John should not leave the hospital after being shot by a gun. At least, he needed to stay in the hospital and be observed for 24 hours to make sure that he was fine before leaving the hospital. If an infection happened, John's body would crash easily and he would become weak just like Anne.In the ward, John frowned and talked with a serious tone, "I'm really fine. Get me my clothes so I can go upstairs to thank Miss Andie and go back home immediately. If Anne knows that I'm hurt, she is going to worry. She will easily be suspicious since you haven't gone back home for a long time. What if she worries about me and brings Sammie to the hospital to look for me? Can you bear yourself even just thinking about it? She's weak and Sammie
Sammie's soft and cute babyish voice melted Stefan's heart immediately. It had been quite some time since he actually put a smile on his face. "Hi, there. What's your name and how old are you?"Sammie tilted her head to look at Stefan's handsome face and smiled sweetly, "I'm Samantha but everyone calls me Sammie."Then she did not forget to introduce Anne to Stefan too. "This is my Mommy. Her name is Anne."At this point, Stefan had given all of his attention to Sammie and did not notice Sammie mentioned that her mother's name was Anne. He pinched Sammie's cheek and said, "Your Mommy is not feeling well. You have to be a good girl and take care of her, do you understand?"Sammie nodded seriously and said, "I will.""Alright, sir. I will bring them to where they want to go," the nurse saw Anne signing to her anxiously. She smiled and said, "Don't worry. I will take good care of them."The promise from the nurse gave an assurance to Stefan that they would be well taken off. He smil
This was the first time Anne brought Sammie out. Ever since she escaped from death, she became a different person—a recluse and was afraid of the sun. This situation became even worse after she became mute.The last time she left the house was two weeks ago when she had to go for surgery.However, she worried about John. In the morning, Robyn told her John was hurt and needed to stay in the hospital to rest. However, she had a hard time believing what Robyn said.After spending so many years together with John, Anne reckoned she was the one who knew John the most. If it was a minor injury, John would never want to stay in the hospital. He cared too much about her and Sammie, so he never dared to let her worry about him. Therefore, it just did not sound reasonable if John would stay in the hospital because of a small injury.Furthermore, Robyn had not returned home since the morning, which was nearly three hours since she left the house. After much consideration, she decided to call
Tara fell silent upon hearing this. She bit her lip nervously and shot Gwen a tentative glance. "I didn't mean to offend you, Gwen…" "I know." Gwen let out an exhale and interrupted Tara before she could finish, "I know you meant no harm, but I can't deny that this is something I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around. In the future, neither of you—even you, Luna—should bring this up again." Her love life was such a mess that not even she could unravel the ties, much less expect other people to understand. Tara pursed her lips and did not reply. Luna stared at Gwen in silence for a while before finally saying, "But you have to face this eventually, Gwennie. After all that you've been through with Luke, all of us hope for nothing but the best for the two of you. Even if you avoid it now, you'll have to face the truth eventually. Otherwise, are you planning on spending the rest of your life in this complicated relationship with Luke? Can you bear the thought of not being
Stefan was mildly amused by the look on her face. He extended his arms out in a gesture of defeat and said, "I never intended on ratting you out to Joshua. You three spoke about these secrets in my presence." With that, he shot Andy a rather helpless look. "Don't you agree, sir?" Andy was surprised to be called out all of a sudden. "Of course!" Although Gwen and Luke had been together for a long time, Luke had never much cared for maintaining good relations with his future father-in-law. He always thought his relationship with Gwen did not concern anyone else outside of the two of them. Combined with the fact that Andy had done some hurtful things to Gwen in the past, Luke grew even more disdainful of his future father-in-law. Because of this, he had never given Andy as much as a second glance throughout their relationship and rarely ever addressed him directly like this. The truth was, Stefan had already called out to Andy once before, during their rescue mission the day befor