“Ha ha, I thought Miss Hutchson was a smart person, but it seems I was mistaken…”
The private investigator said this as he tossed the photos he had taken onto the table.
Mariah was a bit perplexed as she picked up the photos and flipped through them. They were pictures of her alone with Leonardo, and judging by the background, they were taken during her last visit to the hospital…
“What do you mean by this?” Mariah frowned, her tone displeased. “I hired you to find out who spread the rumors, not to investigate my relationship with Leonardo!”
“I know, but it seems we have some unexpected surprises here. If you really had a clear conscience, why react so strongly…” The private investigator looked at Mariah’s expression, smiling as if everything was going according to his plan.
“Just tell me, what&rsquo
“Yeah, William explained everything to me. I should apologize to you for the misunderstanding,” Cassandra said. Being someone who doesn’t sweat the small stuff, she had realized her mistake the moment William explained things to her. She had felt guilty ever since, especially since her relationship with Mariah had become a bit distant because of William.Now that the words were finally out, Cassandra felt a weight lift off her chest.“Are you here alone? Where’s the detective?” Cassandra asked curiously upon seeing Mariah by herself.“Um…” Mariah hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed. How could she admit that she had been fooled?“It was a scam, but it's all sorted out now,” William interjected, answering for Mariah.“Wow…” Cassandra was taken aback for a moment, then seemed to think of something
“Isla, why aren’t you coming to eat?” Vanessa found it a bit strange; the little one had been unusually quiet today.“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Vanessa tentatively touched Isla’s forehead.Not sick…Vanessa muttered to herself while saying to Isla, “The dishes are going to get cold. Come and eat; tonight we have your favorite shrimp ceviche.”Isla glanced at the dining table but then lowered her head, quietly fiddling with her Lego. With a sullen tone, she said, “Mommy, I want to play with Lego…”Hearing this, Vanessa frowned. “You can play with Lego after dinner. Let’s eat first.”Seeing that Mommy seemed angry, Isla reluctantly put down her toy and walked toward the table.“Mommy, when is Uncle Luca coming back?”
Vanessa was both anxious and helpless, so she dialed Luca’s number again. Once again, it was Grandpa Kensington who answered.Not caring about her confusion, Vanessa cried, “Grandpa, please, can you let Luca come back, just for a moment? Isla refuses to eat, and I really don’t know what to do. I’m afraid she’ll starve…”Before she could finish her sentence, Grandpa Kensington hung up the phone.Vanessa stared at her phone in disbelief.At that moment, Luca had just finished taking a shower and realized he had left his phone on the dining table. As he wiped his hair, he went downstairs to grab it.As soon as he unlocked the screen, he noticed that Vanessa had called him twice, but both calls showed as received.Luca looked at Grandpa Kensington in confusion. “Grandpa, did someone call just now?”&nb
"Isla, guess what I brought for you?" Luca shook a cake box at her with a grin.Seeing the familiar box, Isla lit up, practically coming to life. Her eyes sparkled as she leaped forward to grab the cake from Luca's hands, flashing him a sweet smile. "Thank you, Uncle Luca!"Watching her bounce around so happily, Vanessa finally relaxed, relieved to see her in such high spirits.Isla skipped into the living room with her little cake, unwrapping it while shooting her mom a playful look. "Uncle Luca knows me best! Mom never lets me eat this stuff."Vanessa sighed, pressing her hand to her forehead. "Too many sweets aren’t good for you. You won’t grow tall."At that, Isla pouted, looking unconvinced. "Mom, you’re just trying to trick me again."Vanessa chuckled, tousling Isla's hair. "You little girl, always so clever."Mean
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
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!