Shanice got even more excited when she heard that. She immediately followed up with a question, "Ms. Sharp, who is this patriot that you are talking about? Is he here with us?"The camera swept over everyone's faces.Felix looked at Liesel in shock. How come he didn't know about this person? Who was Liesel trying to promote?His head was swimming with questions. Howard also looked stunned, but he quickly caught on to what was happening and let out a quiet chuckle. As he thought, Liesel was a flower dripping with poison. The more beautiful the flower, the more deadly the toxin.His playful laughter lasted a while. When Liesel shot him a glance, he immediately wiped away the amusement on his face and gave the "stage" back to Liesel.Liesel turned toward Shanice and said, "This nameless hero is right outside. I'll ask my assistant to bring him in."Numerous cameras pointed directly at the door.Blair opened the door and pushed Austin inside the room. Confused, Austin slowly entered
"What?" Uriah was left dumbfounded in the middle of his fit of rage. Even Richard was stunned. What did Liesel mean by that?Austin's gaze flitted between Liesel and Richard. His ashen face gradually paled as a speculation formed in his head.Liesel… She had truly gone crazy…She was a lunatic! She was trying to kill her whole family!"This is the interview footage from before. Watch, Austin." Liesel broadcast the video that Shanice sent her on the television.Turning toward the television, Austin heard Liesel's voice clearly.Patriot? Nameless hero? Unshakable love for his country?Was she talking about him?"In a while, after Hardin Group successfully acquires Rayden Enterprises' subsidiary companies in Draskia, I'll upload the reporter's interview on the internet." Liesel smiled lazily. Her eyes crinkled as she gave Austin a meaningful look."Austin, can you guess what kind of waves this video will create when it gets released on the internet? Every Draskian will shower you
Howard chuckled lowly. He stood behind Liesel like he was her guardian.Liesel shot Howard a glance before tilting her head. Once again, her gaze fell on Austin's face.Austin tried to compress his spine further and lower his head even more. He was begging for mercy. He hoped that Liesel would let him live; he wanted to keep on living.The bloody wound on his forehead wouldn't stop bleeding. The pain was agonizing, but he didn't even dare to breathe too loudly."Ms. Sharp, please let me live! Don't air the video!" he begged once again. His voice was completely hoarse.Uriah, who had kicked over a coffee table and wanted to go up against Liesel just now, finally regained his senses. When he finally guessed what Liesel was doing, the fury and hatred from before transformed into fear.Liesel said lazily, "Many years ago, Dash's country had come up with 'the Genius Strategy'. Apparently, Dash had ordered his organization to handpick numerous gifted children. They developed these kids
When Austin heard that, his eyes turned red. His body shivered, and he felt like blood was about to spill from his eyes. Without saying a word, he began to smack his forehead against the floor again."Thud, thud, thud…"With every three slams, he begged once. "Ms. Sharp, please show mercy to my family! "Ms. Sharp, I'm willing to become a double agent and steal Rayden Enterprises' company secrets for you! "Ms. Sharp, I'll do whatever you say. Just please let them off!"The dull thuds made everyone's hair stand on their necks.At some point, the sparkling floor had been stained with red. The blood stuck to the tiles, making it look like a scene out of a horror movie.Shocked, Uriah felt his knees crumple, and he collapsed onto the couch.Richard glared at him with disappointment. However, he also looked at Liesel with the same kind of terror in his eyes.If they were still planning to destroy Liesel after this, then they had a death wish! Anyone who went up against Liesel woul
The senior manager was stunned for a long moment before lowering his head in shame.Those with soft hearts also didn't dare to say anything else.It was true that they pitied Austin, but Austin wasn't even Draskian anymore. When he initially betrayed Hardin Group, he should have foreseen that this could have happened. They shouldn't feel bad for a traitor!Austin straightened up. He raised his bloodied face and looked at Liesel miserably."Ms. Sharp, I'm begging you! I'm willing to sell my soul to you! Ms. Sharp, my brother is only eight-years-old. He's innocent! Ms. Sharp, please let him off!" Tears of regret mixed with the blood on his face.Liesel regarded him calmly. After a long moment, she said in a composed manner, "The reason I called you here was not so that you'd kneel in front of me. It's also not so that I'd see you in this sorry state. If one makes a mistake, they must pay the price for it."The law cannot punish you, but I have my ways. Like I said, you have to fini
"Of course not. If you resolve this threat perfectly, then they will sell their shares at half of the market price to either me or you. Moreover, Richard will step down from the board and leave Hardin Group."Liesel nodded. "Yes, that's only fair. However, aren't you afraid that they'll go back on their word, Mr. Donner? This agreement isn't legally binding, is it?""Our shares have already been entrusted to a third party. Once an outcome is reached, the third party will execute the agreement. My shares will be returned to me in half a month at the latest, and so will Richard's shares."Felix adjusted his tie and smoothed out the wrinkles on his suit jacket. He gave both Richard and Uriah a meaningful look.Liesel raised an eyebrow. "I see… Well, I'll buy the shares that should have belonged to Elijah in the first place."Richard paled. "Liesel, are you crazy? These shares belong to the Hardin family. Are you really going to snatch them out of mine and Uriah's hands? Do you really
Liesel walked out of the visitor room. Standing beside the wide-open door of the conference room, she raised her voice and said, "Mr. Donner, please inform the HR department to not lay a hand on any of my team members in the research department."None of my subordinates did anything wrong in this incident. Besides Austin and Alisha, the other staff should keep their positions. If the HR department wants to fire any of them because of this, I would be the first person to object."The noisy conference room suddenly fell silent.When they heard this, all the team members' eyes reddened.They had to count their blessings that Liesel was their boss.She had fought for their benefits. She had shouldered this injustice for them. She had fixed the situation for them. Out of all the leaders in the company, she was the one who took care of her team the best.As Felix gazed at everyone's emotional faces, he naturally understood why Liesel had done that.She was giving the research departme
If Liesel and Heather were pitted against each other, who would win?Liesel lowered her gaze. She also wanted to know whether she was capable of measuring up against Heather at this point."Before she faked her own death, she had already started researching holography. After all these years, take a guess how far she has gotten in her research," Howard said with meaning. "Perhaps she has already researched holography in its entirety."I pride myself on being a genius, but I cannot compare to Heather."You and I are on par with each other, but in comparison with Heather, there is still a gap. However, I can understand why. After all, you're not only specializing in holographic design."Howard understood Heather very well. She was the most intelligent person he had ever come across all these years. Oh, that wasn't true—there was Jason too.It was impossible for this couple to give birth to a child with bad genes.If Liesel were to be compared against Heather, she might very well lo
"Shut up!" Ophelia yelled in a rage.She immediately asked the food truck owner to give her another cup of coffee before pouring it all over Veronica's calf. She was paying her back an eye for an eye.Agonized, Veronica swayed on her feet. Then, she collapsed onto the ground while gnashing her teeth in pain.Ophelia had been raised by none other than the demon himself, Edward. Since she was little, he would always stand in front of her to protect her. Ophelia knew better than anyone how he liked to deal with matters.After Edward left, she had picked up a few things from him. Naturally, she would never let herself get bullied by others."Give me a serving of fries, a taco, some churros, and a hotdog." Ophelia pointed at the menu items on the food truck and rattled on about her order to the owner, who was gaping at her.Ignoring the probing gazes of the people around her, she minded her own business and brought some fries to her mouth. Only then did she feel herself come back to l
Ophelia was so angry that she wanted to cuss at Edward. However, before she could even get mad, she heard Edward's disappointed voice. "Are you regretting this already?"Ophelia was dumbfounded. However, Edward continued slowly, "After giving it a lot of thought, you decided to abandon me. Is that it? I know I'm not good enough… I don't blame you…"Ophelia felt a headache coming on, but the anger had vanished. "No, I'm not thinking of abandoning you."The kiss yesterday had left her so excited that she hadn't slept a wink the entire night.She thought to herself, "If I don't set the record straight, Edward's going to overthink and paint me as a playgirl."She took a deep breath. "After you kissed me… I was really happy, so I only went to bed very late."Edward was obviously also caught off-guard. He hadn't expected to hear that. With delight in his eyes, he said, "I was also really happy that you let me kiss you."Ophelia hummed, and her face flushed red. "I'm really tired," she
Brandon didn't respond right away. Fred continued, "No one taught your mother and sister how to act appropriately in society. Mr. Ford is spending his precious time teaching them what to do and what not to do. Thus, they will have to suffer a bit for this."Mr. Zima, if you really want to help them, then just give your parents the bare minimum financial aid from time to time. As for your sister… you have no obligation to provide for her. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"Brandon couldn't accept it. "My sister's reputation in the industry isn't great right now. If I don't help her, then she really won't be able to survive. Mr. Ford is also an older brother. He should understand what I'm going through."Jacob loved Ophelia, and Brandon also naturally loved Yvonne. It was because of this that he wanted to try getting forgiveness from Ophelia.Fred raised his voice. "Ms. Ford is very warm and never treats people haughtily. She has never used her family background to bully oth
With a serious expression, Brandon rattled on about the various compensations for Ophelia. Fred nearly couldn't keep his facial expression under control.It seemed like everyone already knew that Ophelia was a huge fan of Chelsea's. It couldn't have been easy to think of such a compensation.The elevator arrived on the top floor, but Jacob still hadn't given his response. Therefore, Brandon hurried into his office behind Jacob and Fred. Finally, Jacob looked at him. "There is some sincerity to it."Firstly, a public apology to Ophelia on his company's Twitter account would clear her name. Secondly, the shares would be considered as financial compensation for the mental distress caused.The third form of compensation was the key point that convinced Jacob to look up. He thought that it was too difficult for Ophelia to fight for concert tickets and produce fan merchandise herself. Now that there was someone readily available to do it, Ophelia wouldn't have to work so hard.This pers
Jacob could really be heinous.Who wanted to listen to Veronica's blabbering?Most people thought that Tobey was sly, cold, and heartless. However, they didn't know that Jacob was the one who was truly wicked.In his youth, he had once been kidnapped because one of the medicines that the Ford family manufactured had threatened to undermine the profits of others. During that time, he'd suffered through endless torment.When he was rescued, his personality had turned ruthless.Although he could be monstrous, he placed great importance on his family and friends. And, Ophelia was his beloved little sister.How could he let Yvonne off the hook for scheming against Ophelia? He had to teach Yvonne that the world could be a harsh place.Not only was Yvonne stupid, but she was also very unfortunate.At first, Jacob could still tolerate how Yvonne had used Ophelia. He had just planned to give her a small taste of her medicine and stop there. However, Veronica had decided on her own accor
Vincent's expression turned cold. He wanted to kick her out of the house, but suddenly, Jacob's cold voice sounded from afar."Since our family is powerful and influential, why should we swallow our anger and surfer in silence?"Jacob had left a document at home, but because his assistant, Fred Foreman, didn't know where it was kept, he had to come home himself to get it. Unexpectedly, he overheard Veronica's haughty words when he returned.Well, a woman who was only pretending to be wealthy in a remote place was now acting superior in his home. Who would allow that to happen?All these years, Veronica had never been defied by someone younger than her before. Because she was much older, she considered herself superior. She didn't care if one was the heir to the family or the eldest son of the main family. At that moment, Jacob's words had made her rage boil over."Look! Look at the children that the Ford family has produced!"Jacob raised an eyebrow. He massaged the spot betwee
Edward chuckled quietly in her ear. "Where do you want to go tomorrow, Ophelia? Should I take you on an overseas getaway? Or perhaps, we could take a stroll nearby and watch a movie.""I can't go overseas; I'm not on break yet. Let's go watch a movie," Ophelia replied. "I've only watched a movie with you as my brother. This time, I want to try watching a movie with you as my boyfriend."Although Edward was still the same person, his identity had changed.She could now touch Edward openly. She could hold his hand, hug him, and kiss him.It was… really great."Alright, get some rest today. I'll come pick you up tomorrow," Edward said.Ophelia nodded and walked him to the door. As soon as she shut the door, she pressed her hand to her chest, feeling her heart thudding rapidly from the kiss earlier.She hopped into bed and rolled from side to side.After Edward got into his car, he finally let out a loud laugh. He pressed his fingers to his lips, reminiscing about the aftertaste sh
As their tongues intertwined, Edward could taste a sweet and sour flavor on Ophelia's tongue. It tasted like she just had a piece of strawberry candy that made her entire mouth taste sweet.Even her breath smelled like this refreshing and saccharine fruity scent. It was as if she was enticing him to take a bite of her and swallow her.The more they kissed, the more forceful Edward got. The air around them felt syrupy and intimate."Are you sure you really have never dated before? Am I really your first? If I am… then why are you so good at kissing?" she asked like it was an interrogation.She didn't know how to kiss and was very inexperienced. However, Edward had practically conquered her. He kissed her until her knees went weak.At the thought of Edward doing this to another woman, her chest began to ache terribly.Edward played with her hair, which had become messy from the kissing. "Like I said, you're all I dream about. I don't even know how many times I've kissed you in my d
"How would you know that I also didn't have the same kind of thoughts when you secretly kissed me all those years ago?"You said that I was born in a tall tower, but I didn't get to choose my background. Meanwhile, you have climbed your way up to where I am to be with me."In ancient times, we would have been innocent and carefree childhood sweethearts. We would've been considered a match made in heaven."Edward, what I'm saying is the truth." Ophelia said each word solemnly. She stared unblinkingly at Edward as she spoke. "While you were struggling with these emotions, who said I was not struggling too?"However, I just couldn't forget you. I couldn't accept a future without you. What I wanted was to have you by my side. I wish you were my lover, and I want to be with you, Edward Ford."Her response was firm and resolute. It echoed with conviction.At the same time, she seemed to be giving her answer to the Edward who had been hiding his feelings in fear and panic for many y