The next day, Vanessa noticed that Mariah seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood. By contrast, she herself felt a bit distracted.
Curious, she finally asked as she watched Mariah eagerly pore over the company's latest project proposal, looking more energized than ever. "Something good happened? You seem pretty happy these days, and even your enthusiasm for work has shot up."
Vanessa glanced over at the project in Mariah’s hands as she spoke.
Mariah, not one to hold back, replied directly, "I’ve been having someone investigate Beatriz recently, and I finally uncovered something. Ever since Cortex was founded, that woman’s been putting obstacles in our way. This time, I’m planning to take the initiative and catch her off guard."
Vanessa was surprised but delighted. "What did you find out?"
"The investigator I hired discovered that Beatriz recently began
Monica thought for a moment, then walked straight up to Miss Waverly. "Rita..."Miss Rita Waverly, as if predicting what she was about to say, quickly cut her off. "Monica, stay out of this. Your schedule is already packed for the month."Monica was left speechless by Miss Waverly's firm response, and had no choice but to let the matter go.Hearing about the situation, Vanessa, who had some past dealings with Miss Waverly, drove over to the talent agency herself.When Miss Waverly saw Vanessa, she offered her a bit of respect and refrained from directly turning down the collaboration.Vanessa greeted her with a polite smile. "It’s been a while, Miss Waverly. I know there’s an issue with the collaboration, so I came by to see if we could discuss things anew."Miss Waverly glanced at Mariah before returning her gaze to Vanessa with a complicated exp
“What is this?” Vanessa asked, puzzled.“It’s like this, President Saxon. After discussions at headquarters, they believe you’ve excelled in all areas and have effectively passed their evaluation. As a result, they’ve decided to promote you to a position at headquarters.”Upon hearing this, Vanessa felt the thin sheets of paper in her hand suddenly weigh a ton.Accepting this position meant she would have to work abroad for some time, which meant no seeing Luca and Isla for the next three months.Not taking the job would mean giving up a once-in-a-lifetime promotion opportunity. Moreover, Beatriz had been making quite a few moves overseas recently; if she could go there, it would certainly help her deal with Ness Corp.Vanessa found herself at a crossroads, only able to tell the visitor that she needed to think it over.
Isla was caught off guard and stumbled backward when Ezra pushed her hard.“Ahh…!”She landed on the ground and began to cry loudly, quickly drawing the teacher’s attention.“What happened here?”Seeing Isla clutching her forehead with a pained expression, the teacher felt a mix of sympathy and anger. This was an elite kindergarten, and any mishap with these children would be a heavy burden for her as a mere teacher.Ezra felt panic rising as he witnessed the scene. Meeting the teacher’s gaze, he stammered, “I’m sorry, teacher, I pushed her.”Realizing that this was the son of the Kensington—a figure not to be trifled with—the teacher felt a headache coming on.“It hurts, it hurts…”At that moment, Isla’s soft cries caugh
“Are you okay, kid?”Mariah hadn’t expected to stumble upon such a scene, but thankfully, she had arrived just in time. Otherwise, the child might have been in serious trouble.Ezra finally came to his senses and looked up to see a beautiful stranger. He muttered a polite ‘thank you’ but then lowered his head, trying to walk past her.Hospitals tend to be crowded, and seeing such a small child wandering alone without an adult was concerning. Mariah couldn’t help but ask, “Where are your parents? Aren’t they with you?”Ezra simply shook his head, his tear-filled eyes tugging at Mariah’s heart.The poor child must have had a fight with his parents. However, ignoring him wasn’t the solution.Having come to the hospital to check on Isla, Mariah wasn’t in a hurry and thought it best to help. &
Beatriz rushed over, shouting, “Ezra, where’s the doctor?!”Before long, a doctor from the director's office heard the commotion and hurried out to check.Seeing it was a child, the doctor approached and carefully examined Ezra's physical condition. “It looks like he fainted from being overly emotional; there’s nothing physically wrong. There’s no need to worry; just keep an eye on him for a bit.”The doctor then turned to Beatriz. “If you’re really concerned, you can go ahead and complete the hospitalization procedures, and he can stay here for observation.”Beatriz nodded. “Could you arrange Ezra’s room to be close to Isla Saxon’s?”Those around them didn’t think much of it, assuming the two little ones were just friends who could keep each other company and wouldn’t feel too lonely.
Mariah was sitting in Isla's hospital room when she suddenly received a phone call.Looking at the caller ID, she recognized it was the private investigator that Cassandra had hired for her.Cassandra had been asking the investigator to look into Beatriz's affairs, so this call likely meant there was new progress on the case.With that thought in mind, Mariah stepped outside while answering the phone.“Miss Hutchson, I have an important lead,” the investigator said as soon as she picked up.“What lead?” Mariah's interest piqued immediately.“Someone on an internal website is offering a recording device for a high price. They claim it contains evidence of Beatriz killing President Pako.”“What?!” Beatriz was stunned to hear this. She had always known that Beatriz was not simple, but she never
“Hello, may I ask if you are...”Beatriz’s words were abruptly cut off by the other party’s impatience. “Who are you?”Taking a deep breath to suppress her anger, Beatriz replied, “You know Alden Vaughn, right?”“Alden? Isn’t he already… So who are you?” The other person seemed surprised.Beatriz didn’t want to waste time on idle chatter and coldly said, “That’s not your concern. I have a job for you.”“What is it?”“I need you to teach someone a lesson—specifically, Vanessa Saxon, the president of Cortex. Make her suffer as much as possible, using whatever means you see fit. The more she hurts, the more you’ll be rewarded. After it’s done, you won’t miss out on your benefits.”Upon hearing this,
“Like what?” Craig suddenly became interested, curious to see what tricks this woman was playing.“Um…” Vanessa assessed the clothing of the young men across from her. “I have several projects I’m working on, and if you’re interested, I can promise to give you the opportunity to collaborate.”Craig’s mind began to waver. For people like them, the last thing they wanted was the monotonous nine-to-five job, which was why they had chosen to take risks and make quick money.Vanessa’s proposal was just what they wanted—not only could they earn money, but they could also invest it and grow their capital.Thinking this over, Craig nodded and said, “Alright, you can offer us the corresponding money and resources in exchange, and we can promise not to harm you.”“Not just that. I also want you to te
Magnus nodded immediately. "Of course, Daddy is a strong man. If he promises Maxime something, he will make sure to do it.""Daddy is so great! Daddy is the best! I love Daddy the most!" Maxime happily jumped up and down in his arms.Senna's face immediately turned dark. "This little brat has no conscience. You’ve been bought with just a gaming console. If Mommy doesn’t buy you one, you’ll hate Mommy, right? Hmm?"When Maxime saw that his mother’s face darkened, he immediately slipped out of Magnus’s arms, hugged her arm, and coquettishly said, "No, no, Mommy, don't be mad, I love Mommy the most... the most... the most..." He said ‘the most’ many times in one breath.Senna chuckled. "Good thing you still know you love Mommy the most... Otherwise, I wouldn’t want you anymore."Maxime immediately pouted his little lips and said, "No, no, no...""Alright, Maxime, Mommy needs to rest more to recover. You go back to Rosewood Manor with Uncle Edric."As the time was getting late, Magnus call
When Maxime saw the old man lying in bed, his black eyes scanned the room a few times, realizing there was no one else. He then leaned over to the bedside with a cute smile. "You’re my great-grandpa." Magnus hadn’t lied to him. He was practically his mini-me, looking so much like him when he was young. The old man looked at Maxime, his eyes reddening as he almost couldn’t stop himself from crying. "Great-grandpa, why are you lying in bed, not moving?" Maxime reached up to scratch his head and then seemed to realize something. "I know, great-grandpa is sick, just like mom, and has to rest in bed, right?" "Little young master is so thoughtful. That's right, your great-grandpa is sick and can only rest in bed," the butler said, increasingly happy as he looked at the thoughtful child. What a well-behaved little one. "Mom says when you’re sick, you need to rest and drink more water. Great-grandpa, you should drink more water and eat more so you can get better soon." Maxime leaned ove
Senna looked at Magnus, the man who was like a god to her, her eyes reddened with emotion. "Magnus, you...""Those shares were left to you by your grandparents. I know you’re worried," Magnus gently cupped her face with his hands, leaned down and softly kissed her forehead, smiling as he said, "I helped you get them back because I want you to be happy, not to make you cry.""I… I am just so overwhelmed with emotion," Senna chuckled, blinking away the tears. She cared about those shares not for the wealth they represented, but because they were a legacy from her grandparents, a blessing from them."Senna, I want to ask you for one thing," Magnus said, lifting Maxime in his arms and looking at her."You've done so much for me, and yet you're still being so distant?" Senna raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued."This matter requires your consent before I can act. The Voss family owes you so much," Magnus lowered his head to glance at the child who was looking at him with equal curiosit
Mrs. Thorne had swollen, red eyes and a pale face, clearly having cried all night. She stormed in, angrily pointing at Senna and accusing her. “You wretched woman, you should have died three years ago. You shouldn’t have come back. Give me back my Astrid’s life! My poor daughter, she died so miserably!”Tobias and Maxime saw their hostile intent and quickly stood up to block Senna’s window.Maxime pointed at Mrs. Thorne and loudly said in a grown-up manner, “Old witch, I won’t allow you to curse my mom.”“Where did this wild child come from? How dare you call me an old witch? You rude, ill-mannered little bastard,” Mrs. Thorne snapped at Maxime.Senna sat up, gently patting Maxime’s head, her face darkening, and her gaze turning cold. “Maxime is not a wild child. He is my son, and he only needs to be polite to others.”Mrs. Thorne was beyond enraged. “Senna, you wretched woman, you killed my daughter, and now you’re insulting me? I’m your stepmother! How can you treat me like this? Ar
In a spacious, luxurious private hospital room, The Old Master lay on the bed, his face withered, his expression weary, and his eyes hollow. He had always been so proud and arrogant, unable to accept that he was now paralyzed. He refused to eat, and after two days, he could only survive on nutrition injections.“Old Master, I beg you, please eat a bit. If you don’t eat or drink like this, how can your body survive?” The butler, holding a bowl of congee, tried to feed him, but he refused to open his mouth.The butler felt heartbroken. He had served the old master for many years, and their relationship had long exceeded the bounds of master and servant. He thought of him as a brother, a family member. Seeing him like this, he wished he could take the suffering for him.The old man was known for his stubbornness; when he didn’t want to do something, no one could force him. He was once a powerful figure, but now he had fallen to such a state,
“You don’t have it now, but you will soon. Hurry up and get better, don’t forget, the tenth day is our big day,” Magnus said as he held her hand, his face full of anticipation.“Everyone outside thinks you're going to marry Astrid Thorne. What does that have to do with me?” Senna turned her face away and snorted.“Are you jealous?” Magnus couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re the mother of my two children, yet you’re still so jealous.”Magnus reached out to turn her face back to him, gently brushing her nose with his finger. “I haven’t told you yet, Astrid is dead.”“What? Astrid is dead?” Senna asked in surprise. “How did she die?” She had already guessed that Magnus wouldn’t let her off after hurting her at the mansion, but she didn’t expect him to go as far as killing her.After the shock, she felt a little pity—it w
Magnus reached out and gently wiped the tears from her face, his voice hoarse. “My Grandpa believed you were the one who set the fire that killed Matthias. He wouldn’t pass up any chance to take revenge on you. If I hadn’t done what I did, your life would have been in danger.”“Sis, brother-in-law didn’t mean to deceive you. Please forgive him.” Tobias pleaded anxiously.“You bad daddy! You made Mommy cry! I hate you!” Maxime angrily raised his little arm and shoved him away before hugging Senna tightly, speaking in an old-fashioned tone, “Mommy, don’t cry. Maxime loves you the most.”Looking at his own son standing like a wall between them, Magnus’s temple twitched violently. He barely resisted the urge to throw the little brat out.“Maxime, kids shouldn’t interrupt when adults are talking. Let me talk to your daddy, okay?” Senna stroked his head, her mind overflowing
It was unclear how much time had passed when a beautiful melody drifted into Senna’s ears. This song…“Sis, don’t sleep anymore. Please wake up, okay? I miss you so much. Sis, it’s been so long since you sang me to sleep. Do you still remember this song? You used to sing it to me all the time. Please wake up, sis. I’m so worried about you.”The familiar voice echoed in her ears—it was Tobias’s voice. Could it be… that she had died and met Tobias in heaven?“Sis, wake up! Open your eyes and look at me! It’s me, Tobias. How could you be so cruel and leave me behind?”Tobias’s voice grew increasingly sorrowful, choked with tears. Big, warm drops of his tears landed on Senna’s face.“Tobias…” It really was his voice. Senna’s eyes flew open, and the moment she saw that familiar little face so close to hers, tears gushed uncontrollably dow
But, the butler warning came too late. The sharp blade plunged mercilessly into the old master’s abdomen."You old bastard," Astrid sneered, her voice dripping with venom. "Three years ago, you promised me that if I got rid of Senna, I would marry into the Voss family as the young madam. But you went back on your word—I tolerated it. And now, when Magnus’s people are hunting me down, you want to cut ties with me? Since I’m doomed anyway, I’ll take you down with me. HAHAHA!""Old Master!"Blood spurted out as Astrid pulled out the knife. The butler’s face turned ashen with terror. Without hesitation, he raised his gun.Bang!The gunshot rang out.Astrid’s crazed laughter was abruptly silenced. A bullet pierced her forehead. Her wide, crazed eyes froze in place as her body collapsed to the ground, lifeless, her expression frozen in disbelief."Old Master, are you alright? Someone call for help!