"That’s a real shame. I owe Adele a favor, so it looks like a partnership between us will never come to be," Amber replied, her voice calm but tinged with disappointment.
The two continued eating, talking about work and life, sharing a mix of trivial and significant stories, but never once touching on the business collaboration that had been the focal point of their meeting. As the meal came to a close, and with the table nearly cleared, they continued chatting for a while longer. It wasn’t until Hazel had finished her meal that she stood up to leave. Just as she got into the car, Omar’s call came through. "Hazel, I’ve unlocked a new video from the hard drive. Do you have time? Come back to the villa, I’ll show it to you." Previously, Omar had always sent Hazel the videos directly, but this time, he asked her to come over to see it, which suggested that this new content was far more complicated than the last. "Alright, I’m free right now. I’ll meeWhen Omar had been at his peak in the organization, he had been a mid-level manager. While he had come up with several successful management strategies and ways to help the organization secure more funding, he had never been privy to the full scope of the group’s secrets. At the time, Omar had suggested a method for the organization to help capable individuals start their businesses. Once their ventures succeeded, they were required to contribute research funds to the organization. That’s how the Price family enterprise came to be, and as it turned out, this strategy worked well. After all, Price Corp still allocated a substantial sum every year to the organization. If the Queen family were still under Jacob’s leadership, they too would be contributing a large research fund to the organization every year. Research, especially in pharmaceuticals, is costly. Without ways to raise funds, the organization’s projects would be impossible to advance. "I
Seeing the woman leaning in closer, Damon quickly turned and walked to the sofa beside his grandfather."What’s going on? Who is she? Why is everyone looking at me like this?"The looks from his family, combined with the woman’s face, gave Damon an uneasy feeling.He had just gotten rid of Delilah—was another troublesome person about to show up?"Damon, you really don’t remember me? It’s me, Chrissy Winslow! We used to play together all the time when we were kids, don’t you remember?"Back when the Price family hadn’t moved to Vernon, they lived next door to the Winslow family. Damon and Chrissy were childhood friends, practically growing up together. However, Damon was always more reserved and rarely spoke, so most of the time, it was Chrissy who chased after him."You’re Chrissy? But back then..."Damon’s voice trailed off as he suddenly recalled something—Chrissy had a noticeable birthmark on her face as a child, and her features d
After hanging up the phone, Damon sat in his room for a while, trying to calm down. He guessed that Agatha and the others would soon see the news online. He wasn’t sure how she would handle it, but perhaps with her son by her side, she would be a little better off. Downstairs, Agatha and Chrissy were chatting away, while Mark and Jamal were playing chess and sipping tea, seemingly unaware of the news flooding the internet. It was fine if they hadn’t noticed yet. As long as the trending topics had made it online, that was enough. It didn’t matter how long they stayed up, as long as Hazel saw them. Once the buzz died down, the discussion would die down too, and by the time Agatha saw it, it wouldn’t be as hard to accept. When Agatha saw Damon, she immediately pulled him over. "What’s with you? There are guests in the house, and you’re hiding upstairs by yourself. What’s that about?" "You and Chrissy aren’t strangers. Why not chat with her? We were just ta
The two of them had grown up together, so they shared a certain understanding. Damon immediately grasped the situation and went to speak with Mark and Jamal. He wanted them to be mentally prepared, in case Agatha couldn’t handle it and needed to call the family doctor. By evening, Agatha had finally seen the news online. Thankfully, her reaction wasn’t as exaggerated as Damon had expected. On the contrary, she seemed much calmer than he had imagined. Perhaps it was because she had already known about the things that had been exposed, or maybe it was because the public mostly sided with the Price family, with most of the comments targeting Delilah. In any case, Agatha seemed unaffected, though her face was a little pale, which was understandable given the involvement of Demian. However, the next day, when Damon saw Agatha’s swollen eyes, he realized he had underestimated the emotional toll this incident had on her. But there was nothing they could do. Re
At HX Corp, only some of the veteran employees remembered Hazel. However, over the years, many new employees had come and gone, and it was possible that even those who had met her in the past no longer remembered her. "That’s fine. It’ll be a good opportunity to use your position as the president of Queen Corp to make connections with the influential people at headquarters. If we have more collaborations in the future, things will go more smoothly." "So when do we leave?" Xander sat across from Hazel, while Sully leaned against her desk, both looking at Hazel intently. "I still have some work to finish up. Give me a day and a half to handle some pressing issues. We can leave first thing the day after tomorrow." "No need." Sully walked over to Hazel and opened her computer. She knew that Hazel had a habit of keeping urgent tasks highlighted on her desktop. After quickly scanning through the list of tasks, she waved her hand dismissively. "You two g
If it weren’t for the vow he had already made to her, Damon would have shamelessly gone to find her right now. Kin was at a loss for words, as this situation was indeed tricky. The two of them stood facing each other in awkward silence, unsure of what to say, when suddenly the office door was pushed open, and Chrissy walked in. “What’s going on here? Why does the atmosphere feel so off?” Bored after spending time at the Price family’s home, Agatha had suggested Chrissy visit the company. She’d mentioned that there wasn’t much for Damon to do at the office recently, and perhaps he could use a distraction. However, as soon as she entered, Chrissy noticed something wasn’t right. Kin was standing in front of Damon, and they were both staring at each other without saying anything. Damon had a grim expression on his face, while Kin appeared to be trying to make a quick exit. Kin, who hadn’t met Chrissy before, frowned when he saw her barge in. His mood
"You’re talking about Hazel and Xander going on the business trip to D Country together?" Chrissy asked again. Damon nodded vigorously, and Kin immediately became tense. Chrissy clicked her tongue and slapped Damon on the shoulder. "What’s there to hesitate about? Just go with her!" "Not only should you go, but you should do it openly. If you have any work related to D Country, go there on a business trip yourself—anything small will do. Just make sure Hazel knows that you’re going to D Country for her." Chrissy sighed, clearly puzzled. She couldn’t understand why someone would hide their feelings. If you don’t show them, how can you expect the other person to respond? "This isn’t a good idea, Miss Winslow. You might not know Miss Queen well, but she’s a strong person and doesn’t like Mr. Price constantly hovering around her. She says it feels suffocating." Chrissy rolled her eyes dramatically. It was bad enough that Damon was so thick-headed, but
Xander hadn’t contacted anyone he knew in D Country before returning. It felt awkward to disturb people this late at night. So, he settled for a small hotel nearby. It would do for just one night; tomorrow he could head back to his house in D Country. His place was a small villa not far from his company, spacious enough. He and Sully had stayed there together before, and now it would be perfect to bring Hazel and stay for a few days. In the early hours, Damon landed in D Country. He and Kin had made a last-minute decision to come, and Kin hadn’t even had time to arrange for anyone to pick them up. The two of them stood outside the airport, and it was so late that there were barely any cars on the road. After a lot of effort, Kin finally managed to book a ride online, but the car wouldn’t arrive for another twenty minutes. During this time, he had also found out which hotel Hazel was staying at. "Sir, Miss Queen's hotel doesn’t have any available r
Next to her, Sheila couldn’t stop marveling at the exquisite design sketches, her eyes glowing with admiration.When the last sketch came out, Hazel finally widened her eyes. On the video displayed on stage, it was the original design sketch for her mother’s villa.And the notes written on it were also in her mother’s handwriting.Just moments ago, Mr. Sullivan had said that these sketches were all approved by the designer themselves, but how did he manage to get her mother’s permission to expose the sketches to so many people?After the lecture, Hazel and Sheila squeezed their way backstage, pushing past the bodyguards to barge in.Seeing that Mr. Sullivan was about to leave with the bodyguards escorting him, Hazel quickly shouted.“Mr. Sullivan, I’m Novaria’s daughter. I came today to ask you how you got my mother’s permission to release her design!”Not only had everyone attending the lecture seen Novaria’s sketch, but everyone fol
At first, Chrissy hadn’t noticed, but now she realized just how skilled Gavin was at coming up with excuses.Even after all this, he was still trying to make excuses for himself. Did he really think she was a fool? That she would believe anything he said?"Or is it that you can’t even take it out? You’ve been with me just for my money and body, haven’t you? Now that you’ve had your fun, why are you still struggling? During our relationship, you haven’t lost out."She was right—if Chrissy didn’t reclaim the money from their relationship, Gavin had already made a fortune.If he hadn’t squandered the money and wasn’t so vain, those funds could have sustained him for the rest of his life.“Damon, let those ladies in.”Gavin's mind tightened, an ominous premonition rushing to his head. He wanted to stop it, but he could only stand there and watch the door, hoping the people coming in weren’t the ones he dreaded seeing.But as expected, he
Parents who dote on their children will always support them as long as they don't make a major mistake. Chrissy had been blinded by Gavin, and now she couldn’t even see such a simple truth. “I brought them back to confront Gavin face to face, but I was worried you couldn’t handle it, so I thought we’d talk first. Since you’re so strong, let’s go upstairs and confront Gavin together.” Chrissy looked up at Damon, a hint of resistance in her eyes. She wasn’t strong at all, and she wasn’t ready to accept this so easily. It was all forced. She nodded and followed Damon upstairs with the three women. Chrissy was a relatively traditional girl, so in the Price family, her room was far away from Gavin’s. One was at the far end of the second floor corridor, and the other was at the opposite end. Gavin’s room was close to the stairs, and as soon as Damon reached the second floor, he could faintly hear some sounds coming from inside Gavin’s room.
Damon had already discussed this matter with Grandpa Mark, so Grandpa Mark was not surprised by his actions now. However, the thought that he had just resolved one issue with Agatha and now had to deal with Gavin left him feeling uneasy."Chrissy, you and Damon go to the tea room downstairs. He has something to tell you. Whatever he says, you’re an adult now, so you must stay calm."Damon, who wasn’t sure how to begin, was relieved that Grandpa Mark had taken care of the arrangement for him.Chrissy’s bad feeling only grew stronger, but she still did as Grandpa Mark had said.Damon instructed the housekeeper to take the three women to a more secluded spot before leading Chrissy to Grandpa Mark's tea room."Damon, what’s going on? Why is it so mysterious? Just tell me, otherwise, I’ll never feel at ease," Chrissy started questioning as soon as they entered the tea room. Damon took a deep breath before finally speaking."Chri
The private room wasn’t small, but the table was relatively small, likely a special arrangement by the restaurant. After all, since the restaurant prioritized confidentiality, it needed to ensure that guests felt safe while dining there. The small table set up this way was designed so that guests wouldn’t feel like their private conversations could be overheard. "Hazel, I’ve already ordered the dishes in advance, all of them are your and Grandpa Omar’s favorites, and I’ve included some snacks that’s suitable for breakfast. I’ll have the server bring it in right away." After saying that, Damon pressed the button in front of him. Within a few seconds, the door opened, and a server entered, respectfully looking at Damon. "Mr. Price, may I serve the dishes?" Damon nodded slightly, and the server bowed and left the room. Soon, a series of dishes were brought into the room by a line of servers. The dishes were abundant, and they looked as good as th
No matter how you look at it, Hazel was the one who suffered the most from this incident, both mentally and physically.By the time Damon arrived at Hazel’s house, it was already past eight in the evening. Hazel had taken her medicine and was ready to rest, but when she heard that Damon had come to visit, she still went downstairs to greet him."Hazel, thank you. I know it must have been you who called Grandpa Omar and changed his mind. I need to sincerely apologize to you for the things my mother did.""Since it’s already so late, I’ve rescheduled the dinner to tomorrow morning. After my mom apologizes to you, she’ll head straight to the airport for a flight at 2 p.m."The press conference that was supposed to take place tomorrow morning had been canceled, saving them a lot of trouble."You don’t need to thank me. I just didn’t want my private matters to be exposed to the public. It has nothing to do with your family. Also, if your mother’s apolog
"Mark, I need to make it clear. If her attitude improves, she can return after ten years. But if she remains the same, she’ll stay abroad indefinitely."Before coming to the Price family, Omar had first gone to the company to have an agreement drafted, detailing how this matter would be handled.He took out two identical copies of the agreement and handed one to Mark."Look, we’re not getting any younger. Who knows when we’ll be gone?"“To ensure Hazel doesn’t get into trouble, I’ve drafted this agreement in advance. Both of us will sign it on behalf of the Price Corp and Omar Corp.”Even if Omar didn’t bring it up, Mark was already preparing this agreement.Agatha living abroad with Jamal might not be a bad thing for the Price family.Seeing Jamal’s attitude toward Agatha, it was impossible to expel her from the Price family. For the sake of the family’s future, it was necessary for Agatha to reform.During her time abroad, it
When the organizers announced the postponement, there was nothing anyone could do but return to their work.Fortunately, the tickets were still valid. The organizers assured them that the same tickets would be honored for the rescheduled event.Calculating the time, it seemed like the lecture would be in two days.Hazel answered the phone, and Sheila’s loud voice immediately came through.“Hazel, are you okay?! I just heard you were injured! I was going to visit you at the hospital, but I found out you’ve been discharged. Where are you? I’ll come right over!”Hazel paused for a moment. “I’m at the villa. You don’t have to—”Before she could finish, the call was abruptly disconnected. Hazel looked at her phone, already knowing that Sheila was definitely on her way.She had wanted to tell Sheila not to come today since they would meet in two days anyway, and Sheila was so busy with work. There was no need for her to make an extra trip.
One option was to have Jamal and Agatha go abroad together, at least not returning until after they were both over sixty.The other option was to make the matter public, with Agatha offering a public apology to Hazel and promising that such a thing would never happen again.Hazel hesitated for a while before speaking, “Since sending her to the police isn’t an option, let’s combine these two choices. First, have Agatha apologize publicly, and then send her abroad to start over before she comes back.”Hazel's expression was calm, as if she were speaking about something unrelated to her.This was one of the things Omar liked most about Hazel—though she was kind, she was far from being a martyr.“I thought you’d soften after hearing what Jamal had to say, but it seems I underestimated you. This is the right approach. If those who make mistakes aren’t punished, they’ll make the same mistakes again next time.”Hazel merely smiled and didn’t respon