Arianna only shook her head. She did not seem relieved—instead, countless thoughts ran through her head. “No, no, something isn’t right.”If Damian had suddenly appeared and told the police someone had framed him, that would make more sense. No one knew better than Arianna that Damian thought someone had framed him, and according to his character, he could not keep something to himself for such a long time.Damian had disappeared for some time and reappeared just to surrender to the police. All this was so unusual. Arianna knew something was amiss when this bizarre incident happened. She feared it would ruin her plans.“Nothing would go wrong, right?” Arianna’s underling frowned. “He has already confessed, so what else is there to verify? He was responsible for the project, so it’s only normal for him to take responsibility. Maybe you’re just overthinking, Ms. Tanner.”“What do you know!” She reprimanded, “If it were that simple, why would I have gone through so much hassle to fram
Arianna instinctively moved her phone away from her ear as if hearing Nathaniel blow his nose would dirty her. After waiting for him to finish, she continued, “Could you power through it? I need you to come into the office. I have something important to discuss with you.”“What’s the emergency?” Nathaniel sneezed and asked, “I saw the news, aren’t you getting married soon? Congratulations! Is this related to your wedding plans? Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to attend the ceremony.”“Enough of your nonsense!” Arianna frowned and continued in a low tone, “I’m not talking about that—I’m talking about Damian.”“Didn’t he just turn himself in?” Everyone heard the news since the Tanner Corporation ensured the public discovered the perfume incident. So, everyone was waiting for the court’s decision as this issue had garnered much public interest.“Yes, he turned himself in, but don’t you think it’s strange?” Arianna’s brows furrowed. “There must be someone behind orchestrating this. Damian ha
“Where is he? Where is everyone?” Arianna’s mind went blank as she stumbled backward. Looking at the empty ward rooms, she had a bad feeling about this.Coincidentally, a nurse walked by. Arianna grabbed her by the collar and questioned fiercely, “Where are they?! Where did the patient and his caregiver go?!”The nurse was frightened as she stuttered, “T-They l-left!”“Since when? When were they discharged? How could he leave the hospital when he was so sick?! Besides, why didn’t you inform his family? Who allowed him to leave?!” Arianna was hysterical as she tightened her grip on the nurse’s uniform collar.The poor nurse was almost choking, “I-I don’t k-know!”“Ari! Ari, what do you think you’re doing?!” Eloise was shocked when she saw what her daughter was doing. She immediately stepped forward and separated Arianna from the nurse.When the nurse regained her freedom, she held her neck and ran away in horror.Arianna pointed toward the room and said, “Mom, Uncle Derrick is go
The fifty-year-old Doctor Franklin adjusted his glasses and raised his head to look at Arianna. He did not lose his temper at Arianna’s insolence. Instead, it was as if he had expected it. “Ms. Tanner, your uncle’s situation is a bit special. He didn’t need my permission to leave, nor was I even given the right to discharge him.”“So, you’re saying you don’t want to take responsibility for this?” Arianna asked as she narrowed her gaze at him.“Ms. Tanner, I assure you everything went according to our procedures. Since the family had requested me to discharge the patient and the patient had also agreed, there was nothing we could do to stop them since they’ve signed the disclaimers.” He finished, took out the legal documents from his shelf, and threw them onto his desk.Arianna hurriedly looked through them and noticed that Stephanie had signed them with her uncle’s crooked signature. “How long have they been gone?” She gritted her teeth and asked as she placed her hands on the table
Arianna was amazed as she connected the dots. She was not Derrick’s initial target but still got caught in the massive web her uncle had weaved. He had been planning this since the beginning.‘He’s a sly and vicious man!’Arianna was outraged. “Mom, it’s fine if Uncle Derrick was genuinely ill, but if not, it’ll all be over for me.”Eloise could see the disappointment in Arianna’s eyes. She lovingly held her daughter’s hands and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you as long as I’m around. Don’t forget that the Tanner Corporation’s president position is still waiting for you, and you will inherit the family’s business!”“Yes, you’re right! I’ll be the sole successor to the Tanner family business!” Arianna said with determination. However, she knew that even with her mother’s help, she would not be able to inherit anything as long as Derrick was still alive.“Mom, even if Uncle Derrick wasn’t sick, it doesn’t mean we can’t take other measures.”“What?”Arianna sma
“What do you mean, Eloise?” Elizabeth asked as she picked up the phone again. She was a bit skeptical of what Eloise wanted to relay, but since it involved her son, Elizabeth decided to continue listening.“Nothing. If you get Joseph to answer the call, I’ll talk to him. I won't say anything if you choose not to pass him the phone. Your son has confessed he was responsible for everything, and I’ve spoken to my lawyer. You’d probably have to wait till he’s 40 for him to get out of prison!”Elizabeth was frightened by what Eloise had just said. She yelled angrily, “Stop trying to scare me! My son did nothing wrong! You and your daughter are the ones who framed him!” Even though Elizabeth tried to sound harsh, she still passed the phone over to Joseph, saying, “Take it! If she calls again, I’ll throw your phone out the window!”“What do you want, Eloise?!” Joseph asked impatiently.“Do you know that your brother left the hospital?” Eloise did not even bother to say hi and went straigh
Eloise paused before continuing, “Try your best to gain as many shares as you can, and also try to liquidity those shares into cash, understood?”“Mom, that’s illegal.” Arianna’s heart skipped a beat after hearing what her mother said.“Try your best to do it as cleanly as possible. Make something illegal seem legal,” Eloise explained nonchalantly. “This was something that frequently happened in the past. However, you must ensure you do this fast. I’m worried your uncle might be planning something. Make sure you get your people to man the lobby entrance,” Eloise instructed.“Okay, I understand,” Arianna replied nervously. It felt like she was preparing for a colossal war.“Ari, we can only depend on ourselves now. Wait, there’s still Nate. I’ll ask him to help,” Although Eloise could no longer salvage her relationship with her husband, she still had her children, and that was enough.On the other hand, Joseph sat in a trance after Eloise hung up on him. He could only return to his
Unlike the Tanner family, Lily’s week had been relatively peaceful. The paparazzi had stationed themselves outside her studio but could not get anything on her since she barely left her workplace.She only traveled back and forth between home and her studio. Moreover, Alexander and Lily had made their relationship public long ago, so the media had even less to dig into. Ultimately, the paparazzi voluntarily left since there was nothing to do.On the other hand, there was finally news about the Perfumers’ Society, as officials had decided to investigate them. News about them caused a massive stir regarding the society’s integrity, such as Lawrence being the society’s qualified advisor and whether the other members had accepted bribery during competitions.This issue had caused public outrage, and officials had no choice but to look into it.The Perfumers’ Society now faced possible dissolution as the public had negative impressions of most of its perfumers. Therefore, some members s
Lily tilted her head up to fight back her tears, saying, “There’s something I find strange.”“What is it?” Mike asked after comforting his son.“Instead of detaining Prince Ross, Her Majesty has sent him back to Yudonia. If so, why couldn’t we reach him?”After some thought, Mike answered, “There are two possibilities. It’s probably due to poor signals, or he doesn’t want us to contact him.”The two shared a look, knowing what each other was wondering.‘Why can’t we contact Ross? Is he planning something?’…Three days later, Lily inserted the last needle into the queen’s leg and looked up at her, saying, “You should start feeling your legs tomorrow. Still, it’ll take some time before you can stand.”Suddenly, Lily chuckled.“Why are you laughing?” Yasmin touched her legs. She had begun to regain sensation in her legs over the last two days. She then began to believe that she could get up. However, the queen was hesitant when the queen heard Lily chuckle.Lily shook her head
Lily straightened up and said without resentment, “Of course, you wouldn’t.”“That’s… quite a pity,” the queen murmured thoughtfully.“Well, there’s a price to pay for everything. That’s how the world balances itself,” Lily continued, “I can’t stop you if you must carry on with R10. Still, I won’t witness whether or not it succeeds. I just wish the outcome isn’t something you’ll regret.”Lily smiled and turned to head out the door.Rick heard their conversation as he stood guard outside. After exchanging looks with Lily as she brushed past him, he entered the room and saw the needles in Yasmin’s legs. “Your Majesty, those needles—”The queen waved dismissively. “It’s okay. Lily will remove them later.”Even so, Rick was wary. “You’re being too careless, Your Majesty. What if that woman—”“She wouldn’t,” Yasmin interjected, shaking her head."Why do you trust her so much?" Rick asked despite himself. The queen fell silent. If Rick had not asked her that, she would not have rea
Lily took out a cloth and unfolded it, revealing a row of silver needles inside. Yasmin was surprised she carried the needles with her.“Tell me. What do you want?” The queen took a deep breath to calm herself. She then reminded herself that she could always say no to Lily’s request. Still, Yasmin was cautious about Lily trying to trick her.Lily casually said, "I left because Prince Ross wanted to help me. I hope you don’t punish him.""That's it?" Yasmin thought she had misheard Lily. 'Is she trying to talk terms with me just so that I won't punish my son?' she wondered in disbelief."Ross is my son. I won't harm him. Don't you think you've wasted an opportunity by making such a request?" The queen shook her head. "I wasn’t sure if you’d blame him, but he did rescue me once. If I don't do anything, it would be ungrateful of me," Lily said gently, "Also, didn’t you already lock him up?"Yasmin was puzzled. "No, I only sent him back to Yudonia. He kept trying to get me to sto
"Three days," Lily replied.“That’s it?!” Yasmin was in disbelief. She thought Lily would try to buy some more time and suspected she would say the process would take several months or even years.‘I haven’t felt my legs for over a decade. I wouldn’t mind waiting for three more days.’“Are you sure I can get up and walk in just three days?” Yasmin pressed her legs hard but felt nothing. She would have treated her legs long ago if it were that easy.The queen had visited many famous doctors from various countries, but they could only stop her legs from getting weaker. However, Lily confidently told Yasmin that she could fix her legs so quickly.Yasmin wanted to believe it.After some consideration, Lily said, “I can’t guarantee that you’ll walk as fast as you once could. After all, you haven’t used your legs for a long time, and your muscles have atrophied. Still, you’ll recover slowly.”Yasmin nodded repeatedly, thinking it was good enough. She never dreamed of walking as well a
“Because only our opinions matter." Lily thought of something and said, "Unless you choose to believe Rhea.""I… don't trust anyone." Yasmin’s expression stiffened as she turned her wheelchair away."Your Majesty, I know you're dedicated to the experiment, but there are other things in life. Have you ever considered letting go of your burden to sightsee? You’ve done enough as a queen over the last few decades. Aren’t you tired of living a lonely life?”Lily gently spoke as she gazed at Yasmin’s back.The older woman caressed her knees with both hands and stared down at her legs, murmuring, “Sightsee, huh? I’ve forgotten what that’s like.”Yasmin had not used her legs for many years. Initially, she could still stand up and sometimes took a few steps. However, she could no longer get to her feet.She had grown accustomed to sitting in a wheelchair, but she felt a pang of sorrow after hearing Lily’s suggestion.Lily asked, “What if I can help you stand again? What if you can walk a
"Yes, I returned not just for him but also for you," Lily said, "I'm sure you were anxious for my return, weren't you?"Yasmin scoffed dismissively. "Why would I be? I have my bargaining chip. Besides, did you honestly think I couldn’t bring you back?""Bargaining chip? Do you mean Nick?" Lily shook her head with a smile. "Don't forget that he's not my son. Do you think he'll be much of a bargaining chip to you if I choose to ignore him for my three children?"She did not wait for Yasmin to reply and continued, "Besides, Nick still has a father who’s willing to die for him. If Mike decides to take drastic action against you— Yes, you're a queen, and you don't care much about an insignificant businessman.“However, don't forget that his business spans worldwide. There's no guarantee what he might do. Who knows, he might spread information that can affect Your Majesty and Yudonia's reputation?""You…" The queen was exasperated but could not retort.Lily noticed it and casually said
Rick could only remain silent at that moment.Yasmin then turned her wheelchair around and blandly said, “Bring Lily over. I’d like to see what excuses that sly woman can come up with.”"Your Majesty?" Rick was puzzled. "You know she'll just lie to you. Why must you—"Yasmin interjected, "I'd like to hear what she has to say."Rick had no choice but to leave and do as she said.As Lily was about to doze off, she heard noises from outside and opened her eyes. Immediately after, the door opened, and Rick appeared. He glared at her and spoke coldly, “Her Majesty wants to see you.”Lily glanced at Rick calmly and stood up as if she had expected his appearance. On the other hand, Mike rose before her and headed out.However, Rick stopped him as he reached the door. “You stay.”"But we came together!" Mike glanced over his shoulder at Lily, signaling her to persuade the man. Rick added, "The queen doesn’t wish to see you. Just stay here!"Lily patted Mike's shoulder and said gentl
Everyone was shocked when Lily returned to the embassy with Mike. One of the staff members quickly left to report the news to Queen Yasmin.Meanwhile, Lily saw people peering at her and Mike from the corner. Afterward, several guarded-looking men appeared. Lilt recognized them as the queen’s attendants. They brought Mike and Lily inside and then gave the duo a thorough search.The men only relaxed after finding nothing suspicious about the duo. Even so, Lily could not see the queen as the men told her to wait in an innermost room instead.After returning to the embassy, Lily felt a sense of strange familiarity. Although she knew the place well, her mindset had changed.She previously hated the embassy and simply wanted to escape. However, she had returned with a critical mission. Not only did she have to complete it, but she also needed to leave the place in one piece.While she was calm, Mike was somewhat anxious. He clasped his hands on his knees and glanced around as he sat dow
"I promise I'll do anything you want, okay?" Mike begged. He was desperate to see his son, so he decided to follow Lily when she insisted on returning to the embassy.Mike continued, “If any of you go with her, they might stop or suspect you. They won’t do that to me. It’s natural for me to want to see and rescue my son. I’m the best candidate because it makes sense for me to sacrifice myself for him.”After a short silence, Lily said, “You’re right.” She then looked at Alexander, who pondered before slowly raising his head and saying, “Me too.”Dominic tapped the table. "So do I."Cameron thought for a moment before saying, "I've no objections."Seeing this, Austin spread his arms and said, "Since you all agree, what else can I say? Let's do it!"It did not matter whether or not he agreed, but he just wanted to support Mike. The latter nodded and became emotional, saying, “Thanks, you guys!”"Why are you thanking us? Just be careful, and don’t be rash like you promised," Aust