Luca didn’t want to drag her into the scandal, knowing that once involved, she would be caught in the whirlwind of gossip, with even her personal information likely to be exposed.
Thinking this over, he decided to drop the matter.
“There's no need for you to trouble yourself with this,” he said.
To Vanessa, it seemed he was dismissive of any association with her.
However, the nature of such rumors is often ambiguous—perhaps they really did have something going on? If that were the case, her insistence on getting involved could only be seen as reckless.
“Alright, if you need my help, just let me know, Mr. Kensington,” she replied. Still half-asleep, she felt she could squeeze in a bit more rest. With that, she offered a vague response and headed back to her room.
Luca, however, might have misinterpreted her demeanor, thinking she was upset about the rumors, which made him involuntarily smile a little.
As rumors swirle
The assistant's expression was a bit awkward as he quietly and humbly reminded her, “But, President, we’ve been trying to secure Cassandra as a spokesperson. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, we haven’t been able to reach an agreement. This time might be just as challenging…”As he spoke, the assistant’s tense demeanor revealed his fear of saying something wrong and being met with Beatriz’s wrath.“Due to scheduling conflicts?” Beatriz scoffed, tossing a file at him, which landed perfectly in his lap.Opening the file, the assistant wasn’t surprised, but his legs started to tremble with fear.“President, we’ve really made efforts to negotiate. We’ve spoken with Cassandra’s manager multiple times, but they insist on the schedule being unworkable unless…”Beatriz perked up at the mention of an opportunity, her expression softening slightly. “Unless what?”
Luca paused, knocked on the door again, and said, "The designer from LW Brand, Eric, will also be joining us for dinner tomorrow."‘Eric, the designer from LW Brand?’ This was the primary reason she had come to London. If she could collaborate with Eric, it would open doors for Cortex to enter the jewelry design market and expand its multi-disciplinary projects.But after several days in London, all her attempts to meet Eric had been rejected. Yet, Luca managed to arrange this so easily?A trace of doubt crossed her mind. She opened the door, meeting his gaze as she asked, "Are you serious about this?"Luca smiled confidently. "Of course. I never lie."Despite her hesitation, Vanessa couldn't resist the opportunity to meet Eric. She gave a small nod, signaling her agreement."Send me the time and address for tomorr
She looked like she was sulking, her tone intentionally childish, as if trying to annoy him.To Luca’s surprise, he found it a bit endearing. Unconsciously, the corners of his mouth lifted, revealing a doting smile.Fueled by the alcohol, Vanessa noticed his smile and immediately reached out to pinch his face, fuming. "What are you smiling at? Are you laughing at me?""Ow, not so hard."Luca didn’t get angry. Although it hurt a little, he just frowned slightly, still speaking in a gentle tone.But Vanessa didn’t seem pleased, grumbling, "Serves you right. Compared to what I went through, this little pain is nothing..."Thinking he hadn’t heard her, she continued to mess around for a while before finally falling asleep in his arms.In the taxi, Vanessa rested her head on his shoulder, her steady breathing confirming she was a
Vanessa looked at him with a cold smile and said, “Mr. Kensington, you think too much.”Her distant tone and indifferent reaction caught Luca completely off guard.He was momentarily at a loss for words, using the last bit of his patience to calmly say, “I’ll wait for you to finish. Shouldn’t we have a talk?”Vanessa wanted to refuse, but seeing he had no intention of giving up, she sighed in resignation and turned to her assistant. “Please have Mr. Kensington wait for me in my office.”After saying that, she turned and headed to the elevator, continuing with her work meeting.The assistant respectfully led Luca upstairs and prepared some tea before leaving to attend to his own tasks.Luca observed Vanessa’s office, noting a photo of her and Isla on her desk—with no one else in the frame.This piqued his curiosity.
Screech— The deafening sound of brakes. Bang— The violent crash. At the scene, one car collided with the nearby fence due to brake failure, while another car ran a red light, resulting in a severe rear-end collision. In an instant, the situation turned catastrophic, with dozens of cars involved in a chain reaction, and the front vehicles crumpled beyond recognition. The only car that avoided the worst of it was now wedged against the fence, the airbag deployed, trapping Vanessa inside. With everyone working together, they first rescued the terrified Isla from the back seat, who had been crying uncontrollably. When Isla saw the horrific scene of the mangled vehicles, her cries abruptly ceased as she struggled in the arms of a bystander, repeatedly calling for her mother. Vanessa, with a slight bleeding on her forehead, was disoriented and unaware of the severi
Three days later.Vanessa had been discharged from the hospital and had been keeping an eye on Beatriz's movements. Although she hadn't found anything suspicious, she never intended to let the matter of the accident go so easily.After all, it had almost harmed her daughter, and she couldn’t let it slide.After days of investigation, her assistant had managed to contact a recently resigned accountant from Ness Corp and confirmed that the money was specially approved by Beatriz.“It’s definitely her. Looks like I’ll need to use some tactics,” Vanessa said, a cold smile curling at the corners of her mouth, showing no sign of backing down.After giving her assistant a few instructions and finalizing the day's workflow, she changed into a powerful outfit from the latest season.“Today I have personal matters to attend to and will not accept any work a
Later that night.In a presidential suite of a five-star hotel, Beatriz stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, a glass of red wine in hand, her eyes filled with a mix of pleasure and cunning. “Originally, everything was going smoothly with the plan, but now there’s a small hill in the way. What do you think I should do?” A refined man in a well-tailored shirt approached her, also holding a glass of red wine, his eyes filled with affection and intimacy. “Who could possibly stand in your way?” Beatriz didn’t respond, only smiled at him, making him deeply infatuated.Unable to help himself, he reached out, his breath unsteady as he leaned in closer, saying, “Then let’s eliminate her!” Upon hearing this, Beatriz smiled, allowing him to revel in her scent. “Then I’ll leave this matter to you.” “Alright, leave it to me…” He was so enraptured that he lost his senses.
It was only around 3 PM, and Vanessa had already briefed her assistant before leaving work. She ran into Mariah, who had just seen off a client. “President, are you planning to work yourself to death, trying to stick it out until the very end?” Seeing her joke about herself, Vanessa pretended to be angry. “If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll seal your lips!” “Alright, alright, no more jokes. Where are you off to?” Mariah offered a few options. “Are you going to meet a client or the president of the K Group?” Vanessa rolled her eyes and explained, “Didn’t you say I should pay more attention to my daughter? I’m picking her up from school and taking her out to eat.” “Oh, how rare! President Saxon remembers she has a daughter.” “This is the company; don’t tarnish my reputation.” After some playful banter, Mariah finally laughed and said, looking at the time, “You should hurry; otherwise, you’ll be late.” Realizing the time, Vanessa immediately head
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 cal
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!