The following day, Elliot brought Sophia to Westo. Emma’s grave was in the Ridge Cemetery, right beside her parents. They were here to pay respect to all of them.Little did she know she’d see two cars parked at Lingen Mountain. She asked puzzlingly, “Whose car are those?”Elliot recognized it instantly. “Your brothers are here.”She was bewildered. “What are they doing here?”He responded, “We’re about to find out.”Treading the path, they climbed the hill until they reached the cemetery not far from the villa. Several guys were standing in front of her mother’s tombstone. Elliot was right. They were her brothers.She started walking lightly without realizing it. It wasn’t as if she wanted to eavesdrop, but she was a little curious as to what they were doing here. Then, she began to hear their voices when she crept in closer. Donald said, “Greetings, Grandpa. Grandma. Aunt Emma. Allow me to introduce my siblings to you. You have Chester here. The guy standing next to him is
Phoebe was stunned. “Alright, then. Goodbye.” With that, she hung up the phone. Elliot turned and looked at Chester. He had done what he could. Now, it was up to Chester himself.Chester’s body went stiff when he heard Phoebe’s voice over the phone, but he relaxed the moment she hung up. It felt as if he had been running vigorously for six miles and finally got to settle down. Immediately after that, he found himself missing her longingly.He didn’t dare to stay anywhere near her. In fact, he didn’t even trust himself to stay in Phoenix. He was worried that he couldn’t control himself and ended up appearing before her, thereby making her hate him more.However, the more he tried to suppress himself, the clearer he saw her in his mind. He saw her in different moments of the past, wearing different expressions. Arrogant, affectionate, and miserable. She spent most of her time with him, feeling miserable. In his mind, he saw her looking at him with this disappointed look on her fac
There was no way Elliot would swap seats. He wanted to sit next to his wife. “Try asking someone else.”Pouting, Chase looked at Sophia and said, “Let’s swap seats, Soph.”She responded lazily, “Nuh-uh. I’m too lazy to move.”Donald frowned, “That’s enough. It’s just dinner. Is this really necessary?”Chester glared at him and said, “Get out of here if you’re not going to eat!”That riled Chase up. “Excuse me. Am I talking to you?”Chester responded, “You’re bothering me.”Chase retorted, “Well, then. You should get out of here.”Chester banged the table and stood up abruptly, “Are you still itching for a beating, Chase?”Chase followed suit and banged the table as well. “Bingo! I’m still up for it if you are. How about that?”Avery, too, banged the table and barked, “For Heaven’s sake, can you two quit it and have a nice dinner?”Now, Donald was doing the same thing as well. He banged the table and roared, “That’s right. Will you two knock it off?”Chester and Chase glared
Chester looked at her and smiled.‘Is Sophia showing me how to win Phoebe back? It’d be wonderful if it were true.’“I appreciate your help, Soph.”She rubbed her eyebrows, troubled. The whole thing was so convoluted! What was she supposed to do? She was the one who messed it up. So, she had to clean up her mess.Reaching out, Elliot held her hand and smirked, “Are you doing this to clear your conscience?”Whispering, she said, “I wouldn’t have intervened if he wasn’t my brother. I still think he deserved to wallow in guilt and regret, but I feel responsible for tearing their relationship apart!”He responded, “Do you think he’s all carefree and unfeeling? I’m sure he’s swimming in a sea of regret!”She whispered, “The truth is, I think both of them still have feelings for each other. So, I’m going to give them a shove in the right direction. I can’t guarantee that they’ll find their way back to each other, though. That’s up to fate!”…The moment they arrived at Elm County, S
Sophia sat in her room for a long time, but Chester still didn’t come back into the villa. Worried, she decided to go out and check on him. Then, she saw him. Leaning against the wall, he kept his head lowered, looking miserable. It seemed as if a black hole had drained all of the light from him. He was a six-foot-tall man, but it seemed as if an invisible, crushing force was weighing down on him, making him look very vulnerable.Walk over, she asked, “What’s the matter?”Looking at her with reddened eyes, Chester said in a barely audible husky voice. “Phoebe didn’t even want to be friends with me.”Sighing, she said, “Is that all it takes to beat you down? Think about all the cruel stuff you did to her. How do you think she took it? Here are some tips. If you want to win her back, then you need to know that it’s not going to be easy.“If you can’t take the hits, then you might as well give up now. After all, given your background, you could easily find another lady.”He said
Sighing, Jeffrey continued. “It was because Keith knew hypnosis. He could hypnotize anyone, and they would submit to his every whims and fancies. In no time, the minor families sucked up to them like lap dogs.“They even paid their fellowship fee without any prompts. That was the criteria back then. If they pay up, they could be part of the McBerry family, too. “The Mcberry had such immense powers that they could decide who stays and who goes. If you’re part of the family, you’re going to be treated fairer. Naturally, everyone competed to join their fellowship.“The Mcberry was practically overlords. No other family came close to being as powerful as they were. The mere mention of the family name was enough to strike fear into the people’s hearts. No one dared cross them.“The three other prestigious families weren’t as easy to fool as the other minor families. So, they assembled the other families, whom Keith hadn’t hypnotized, to tear the Mcberry down together.“However, the Mc
Elliot comforted, “Don’t worry, Grandpa. The Patton Group has been in business for a hundred years. It won’t collapse so quickly. Although he’s the CEO, he still needs the approval of the board of directors on some projects. It shouldn’t be irreparable yet.”Jeffrey said, “He has many supporters now. No one can do anything to him without solid evidence. His position as the family head and CEO will remain his unless you can find evidence of his crime. Even I’m powerless in my position.”Elliot reassured, “I know, Grandpa. I won’t allow the family to stay the same as it was a hundred years ago. I plan to visit the company tomorrow. With enough time, I’ll find something to hold against him. You should inform Ethan.”Jeffrey nodded, saying, “All right, investigate Underworld Palace’s hypnotism techniques and see if Keith McBerry has passed them down.”“I understand, Grandpa.”…Sophia and Elliot accompanied Jeffrey for breakfast and stayed until the afternoon before leaving. Later, E
Sophia was furious, knowing the two-faced Mary had manipulated her parents again. The former was frustrated that she could not expose Mary’s true colors yet for fear of alerting the enemy.Sophia questioned, “Did Mary tell you Xena attacked her?”Lucas was distressed as he answered, “No, Mary has been hiding it, and we had to pressure her to tell us. She admitted to going to Bermill. Still, Xena caused Hamish’s injuries, which match Mary’s.”Paisley angrily added, “What are you talking about?! Mary has been taking medicine to hide her injuries. She wouldn’t hide anything if she intended to sow discord. Why would you think Xena caused Hamish’s injuries, but Mary fought a thug?“You can only deceive a three-year-old child. No two people can cause the same whip marks. Xena just couldn’t stand seeing Mary with Hamish. Xena had no right to object to Mary and Hamish’s engagement.”Xena only watched as her mother spoke harshly. Soon after, the former retorted, “If you like Mary and Hamis