"If Heather were dead, we might be able to help you do something about Elijah. But since she's still alive, do you really want us to retaliate against her and Liesel?" Nathan's bleary gaze was filled with clear disdain. "Belinda, are you even worth it?" Belinda faltered. "But… But we Turners have always been on the good side. We haven't done anything bad.""Is that so?" Nathan asked flatly. "If we Turners don't have any skeletons in the closet, why is Elijah at our place? Liesel should have already taken him back by now."Belinda had no idea how to retort. "No one is truly innocent. What you consider clean is what others want you to see. You can even resort to kidnapping someone. Do you really think we're innocent?" Nathan's voice became more frail. "If Jason was still around, Heather would definitely protect the Turner family and never consider us enemies. But since he's not here and you're bullying her daughter and future son-in-law, she will destroy you and our family."It
But Heather did not take Liesel and Xavier with her and left them behind instead. She even left Liesel with a nightmare she set up. Heather implied to Liesel that she was forced to commit suicide and wanted her to raise Xavier. She also wanted Liesel to snatch everything that belonged to the Mallones. Aside from nightmares, what else did Heather even leave for Liesel? That faint motherly love? Did Heather ever truly love Liesel?Heather invested all her love in Jason. She was a qualified lover, but she would never be a certified mother. That was why Liesel guessed Heather could be still alive. But even if that was true, Heather was truly dead to Liesel.At that moment, Elijah even used his darkest side to understand Heather. She might have shown up now because she would be returning to Draskia soon.Heather didn't just lend a hand now because the Turners were powerful. It was possible she wanted to present herself favorably to Liesel. Heather simply wanted Liesel to know tha
Heather truly lived up to her name. She was always keeping an eye on the Turners in Ashthorne. Otherwise, how would she coincidentally pop up in a video chat as soon as Elijah's fingertips brushed against the keyboard? The Turner family's internet had firewalls, but Heather had easily breached them. That alone was enough for anyone to understand what was so terrifying about her. Nathan stared at the screen with a darkened gaze, meeting Heather's delighted gaze. "Mr. Turner Senior, it's been a long time."Nathan's eyes clouded over. "It indeed has been a long time. Heather, what is the purpose of doing all this?"Heather smirked leisurely. "I thought you'd be happy to see me alive. Are you really unable to guess why? Seems like you've truly aged."Was Nathan unable to guess what she was up to? Of course, he could. As long as Jason was still alive, Heather would continue living. There was only one possibility for Heather to show up now. Jason was about to recover."Mr. Turner S
"Liesel has all this because of me." Heather beamed. "So, I was the one who created her. What gave you the right to ask me to remain in the shadows?"You want the creator to step aside for a figurine souvenir? Have you heard of such a thing?" Heather did not refer to herself as Liesel's mother. She referred to their relationship as a creator and her figurine souvenir. She clearly did not love Liesel.Elijah's gaze grew colder. Meanwhile, everyone present was shocked at Heather's words. Before Elijah could respond at all, someone already pushed open the door to the Turner residence's living room. Since the sound was quite loud, everyone turned to look. Instead, they saw Liesel, who truly resembled Heather. After Liesel pushed open the door, two tall, handsome men followed her inside. One man had short black hair, seeming gentle and refined. The other had long silver hair with a rugged appearance. They stood beside her as if they were her bodyguards. Behind the trio were numero
Heather could do everything and overthrow anything for Jason. Liesel was able to do the same for Elijah. Any man who had their love could obtain everything.Liesel was doing her best to ignore Elijah's legs. She forced herself to not look at his crippled legs. "I'll settle the score with you over a few things once we're home." Liesel glanced at Elijah with a gentle gaze. He sighed helplessly. "I'm already like this."Liesel merely held his fingertips before slowly getting to her feet. Since Elijah was behind her, she stood up as if she wanted to block Elijah from view. "Ms. Mallone, long time no see." Everyone knew that Liesel was drop-dead gorgeous. However, it was Heather's first time officially meeting the adult Liesel via video call. Liesel was far similar to who Heather used to be. Although they had different demeanors, Liesel could be considered an exact copy of Heather. Despite her gentle appearance, Heather gave off a venomous demeanor. But Liesel was different. S
Heather remained unnervingly calm, as if the life at stake was nothing more than a figurine to her."You're terrifying," Liesel said as she looked at Heather. "Actually, there's no real connection between us. My mom died more than a decade ago. She was driven to cut her wrists due to my dad's actions."She wasn't some strong, dangerous woman who could scare people in the business world. She was a weak, pitiful woman who couldn't protect her children. She was so powerless and incapable that she was driven to her death. My mom is long gone."Liesel spoke slowly. Each word was clear enough for Heather to understand.But Heather didn't grow angry. She simply smiled and spoke in a calm, almost soothing tone, "I gave birth to you, Liesel. Your exceptional genes come from me. That's an irrefutable fact. Whether I'm alive or dead, you will always be Heather Mallone's daughter."Her words wrapped around Liesel like an unbreakable chain. Yes, she would always be Heather's daughter.It was
Liesel was not someone who could be defeated easily.She was dangerous and powerful. Even in the pursuit of love, she never truly gave up on her own goals. She might feel pain from betrayal, but the next moment, she would rise again.No one could truly bring her down. She would always love herself.If someone tried to make her a pawn, she would destroy the entire game. She would always be the one in control, manipulating the game, never the one being manipulated.Not by Matthew, and certainly not by Heather.The hall was silent. All eyes were on the confrontation between mother and daughter. Everyone expected Heather, with her vast experience, to completely overpower Liesel. But that wasn't the case. Liesel not only stood firm, but she seemed to be gaining the upper hand.Nathan's gaze darkened as he observed Liesel. A monster had given birth to another monster.Meanwhile, Heather could see a line of high-ranking individuals standing behind Liesel on the screen. They were all th
The other faction, the conservatives, insisted on waiting for Jason to wake up.However, those researchers were protected by the government. Without Jason, they had no real way to communicate with these researchers.They were close to backing down.That was when Heather hacked into the surveillance system. She knew those lunatics had drawn blood from Jason, and some even went so far as to drink it, all in the name of boosting their intelligence.They were insane."When I took Jay, they'd already drawn a thousand milliliters of blood from him. How cruel can you be? You were just hoping he'd die for the sake of your research. If I hadn't taken Jay, he would've been dead. And now you have the nerve to lecture me, accusing me of committing a crime?""If that's the case, haven't those researchers and everyone who was involved in this all violated the law? Can't I sue them, too?"Heather scoffed. "Don't force me to change my nationality and take this to the international courts. If it
"I remember you saying that you thought of Ophelia as your sister, then you got together with her. Are you trying to commit incest?" Jacob said mockingly. He was cutting straight to the chase.Before Edward could respond, Jacob asked Ophelia, "Since you like CEO and brother-sister literature so much, can you swear on your life that you were imagining Edward and not me?"Of course, he had to throw snide remarks at both of them.His mouth was truly venomous.He didn't even give Edward a chance to explain before sending another blade through his heart. "Didn't you say that you would take care of Ophelia for the rest of your life? "The Ford family sent you abroad to study, but you came back only to commit incest. It seems like you didn't learn much while you were overseas. If anything, the only thing you picked up overseas was loose morals toward love."Edward's smile stiffened. "Jacob, Ophelia and I have already talked about it. We aren't related by blood, and this is between us."
When Ophelia didn't ask further, Edward rubbed her back and asked, "Are you hungry? If you want to grab a bite, shall we head to Heritage Hotel?""I want to check out the food market at Alden University, and I want you to carry me." She paused to think for a moment. "Piggybacking is also fine."It seemed like Veronica's tantrum hadn't reduced her enthusiasm for the food market. Edward was relieved that it hadn't ruined her mood."Is the food there clean? I thought Jacob said no street food." The reason he brought up Jacob's name was because he knew that he would be defenseless against Ophelia's cuteness.Jacob also happened to be the only person that Ophelia was truly afraid of.Still, Ophelia didn't take it seriously. "He's not even here. He won't know if I secretly have some."As soon as she said that, a cold voice sounded from not far away."What is it that I won't know?"The person slowly emerging from the shadows was none other than Jacob.Videos of the incident between O
Edward narrowed his eyes, sensing that something wasn't right.What could make Denzel so cautious?"Will you tell me when we get home?" Edward patted Ophelia's head. The latter leaned into his touch guiltily.Denzel massaged his forehead.Whatever. The sooner they went away, the better. He didn't want to watch them be all lovey-dovey in front of him.After they left, the janitor sanitized the office. Denzel had no more work for the night except for the discussion that he had with Jacob tonight.Just as he thought about Jacob, he called."What does your text mean? What do you mean, 'Sorry for my beloved'?"Denzel was quiet for a moment. "Have you not seen the trends on Twitter in the past two days?"Jacob was even more puzzled after he checked. Besides the news about Ophelia getting bullied by Yvonne, there was nothing else. Wasn't he already handling this matter? Or could there be something else that he didn't know about?"Are you not aware that Edward and Ophelia were trendi
Meanwhile, in the long term, Dash would be a concern. Dash had a lot of nasty tricks up his sleeve. While he might not dare to piss Liesel off now, he most likely wouldn't let Ford Corporation off the hook.Of course, Edward knew all of this.It was because he knew this that he spent such a long time abroad, hiding from Ophelia. Still, he hadn't been able to control his feelings for her. He couldn't bring himself to let go of her.He didn't have any greater aspirations in this lifetime. He only wished that he could help Ophelia reach the stars. Then, he'd stay by her side and protect her. Anything else was outside his consideration."I know the consequences." Edward gazed down at Ophelia with a gentle smile."If Ophelia didn't like me or have feelings for me, I would be willing to just stay by her side and never cross that line. However, I'm fortunate that the person I love also loves me back. "Thus, no matter what the future brings, I can handle it."I think about how brightly
Denzel sent Jacob a text that said, "Sorry about your beloved."Jacob, who was already headed to the hospital to have a discussion with Denzel, was taken aback when he read the message.What did that mean?Before Denzel could explain, the door opened. Inside, Edward was hugging Ophelia.Denzel had a strange look in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something but was holding back. However, Edward didn't overthink it. He merely thanked Denzel and prepared to leave the hospital with Ophelia.Upon hearing that, Denzel's smile froze. "You're welcome."For some reason, it sounded like he was seething. It even sounded a little like "fuck off".Nevertheless, Edward didn't think too much of it. However, he overheard Denzel instructing the janitor to sanitize the entire office, especially the bed and the couch.Edward was speechless. So that was why Denzel had been so hostile earlier.Despite his typically calm and refined demeanor, Edward was furious and embarrassed. "I didn't
Edward had the foresight to turn Ophelia's face toward him so that Denzel's smile was no longer directed at her.Denzel was speechless.All of Denzel's elderly patients wanted to make him their son-in-law, while the young women would secretly fall for his good looks and dream of marrying him. And that wasn't all. There had even been young men who had been so charmed by his smile that they kept asking if he was also into guys.Therefore, Edward didn't want his future fiance to even look at Denzel for a second too long. In his eyes, Denzel was a seductive devil, which was why he had the nickname "Denzel Medusa".Thus, Edward said shamelessly, "If you're done with the wound dressing, then you may leave. I want to discuss some things with Ophelia and also get some rest."Denzel wished he could cut ties with Edward and have the hospital blacklist him.He massaged the spot between his eyebrows. "This is my office."Without any hesitation, Edward asked, "Aren't you single?"In this
"It's my fault. I'll definitely pay attention next time." Edward felt very guilty and sorry."So you want me to get hurt again?" Ophelia tugged on the silver chain around Edward's neck. Her eyes twinkled.She had bought this necklace for him when she was younger. She remembered that it had come with an oval locket, inside which she had inserted a photo of her getting hugged by him on her own accord.She couldn't really remember what the photo looked like anymore, but she had a rough idea. She had picked the photo that she thought she looked the best in.At the time, she had still been really young, but she had been inspired by a television show. She thought that by giving a family member or a lover a gift, they would always think of her whenever they looked at it.Kids were always naive like that. She thought that since he would think of her when he saw her gift anyway, she might as well put a picture of herself inside.Thus, the young Ophelia had picked out a silver necklace and
As if she could sense something, Ophelia looked up. Her indifferent gaze suddenly lit up, and her eyes curved as she smiled.Edward's throat tightened. At this moment, he didn't know whether to feel frustration or heartache.He had been a little late, and Ophelia had ended up getting bullied by a crazy old woman.Edward walked to her side and squeezed her hand gently. Ophelia had no intention of wasting her breath on Veronica. She was waiting for Edward to come and handle her.She pointed at Veronica and said straightforwardly, "She's bullying me."Without a second thought, she continued, "She accused me of bullying her daughter, Yvonne, which is why she came to stir up trouble."Edward frowned. The Ford family didn't have much of a partnership with the Zima family, and Edward had spent a few years studying abroad. The older generation never got to see him much, so Veronica naturally didn't recognize Edward as Matthew's adopted son.Thus, she just assumed that he was another For
"I'm not interested in getting revenge on a celebrity I used to be a fan of. If your daughter received any retribution, it's only because even God couldn't let it continue."If you have so much free time, it would benefit you more to come to church with me instead."Ophelia was about to walk off when Veronica leaped forward. She held onto Ophelia's leg again and refused to allow her to leave. "No, you can't walk away! Yvonne said that she doesn't have a future in the industry anymore after making you angry."You have to forgive her! Aren't you a fan? You can't just stop supporting her. You have to keep liking her. As the daughter of the Ford family, you can give her more opportunities, and she will definitely be able to rise again!" Veronica roared maniacally.Ophelia let out an exasperated chuckle. All of a sudden, she felt like the entire Zima family was full of lunatics.Unable to hold back anymore, she said angrily, "Yvonne has committed a crime. Do you think I'm moronic enoug