“Although the suspect still hasn’t been caught, the police managed to track down a group of young people who were camping on the mountain that night. One of them is absolutely certain they saw someone at the scene.“After examining the area, the police found footprints and were able to estimate the driver’s height and weight. They’ve put together a fairly complete profile, but unfortunately, there’s no match in the national database.“There’s a high chance he’s an undocumented immigrant, which makes tracking him down extremely difficult.” As William spoke, a peeled orange segment appeared in front of him. He paused, glancing up. Layla smiled. “Mr. Lucas, you must be thirsty.” William took the orange without much thought and asked casually, “You’re really not worried?” “What’s the point of worrying? Even the police can’t find him—what, am I supposed to think I can?” Leaning back against the headboard, Layla continued, “I’m just curious. How did Xena even find that drive
After hearing about Layla’s accident, Mr. Perry Sr. had called Sean to the family estate to get the full story. At the time, Sean had insisted that he had to earn Layla’s forgiveness. But it was far too late for that. Xena’s pregnancy had completely shattered Mr. Perry Sr.’s faith in him. There was no way he would allow Sean to disturb Layla ever again. So, right then and there, Mr. Perry Sr. had locked Sean in the house, forcing him to stay put. Over the past few days, Sean had gone on and on about how sorry he was, repeating his regrets so many times that Mr. Perry Sr. was sick of hearing them. Thinking about it now, Mr. Perry Sr. felt a headache coming on. “That foolish boy only learned to cherish what he lost after it was already gone. What’s the use of that?” Worried that Layla might overthink things, he quickly added, “I’m not telling you this to ask for forgiveness on his behalf. Frankly, I don’t even have the face to do that anymore.” Layla simply smiled
“If you hadn't mentioned it, I would’ve almost forgotten you're even pregnant.” Mr. Perry Sr. slammed his cane against the floor, his voice thundering through the hallway. “Let me make this crystal clear—no matter what, even if you give birth, you will never step foot into the Perry family!“A child born from a woman like you is no good. Even if it has Perry blood, our family will never acknowledge it!” His teeth clenched, his words dripping with contempt. “Even after I'm gone, I'll make sure my will states that neither you nor that bastard child will ever have anything to do with this family!” With that, Mr. Perry Sr. strode past Xena without so much as a backward glance. Xena stood frozen, completely stunned, until Mrs. Xander pulled her into an embrace. Snapping out of it, she looked up at her mother, tears streaming down her face. “Mom… why? Why is my sister doing this to me?“Does she really hate me this much? Ruining my life wasn’t enough—now she wants to make su
Late at night, Mike stepped into the room and reported, “Xena’s still kneeling outside. The whole Xander family is here now.” The moment he pushed open the door, the noise from the hallway spilled in. Layla wasn’t deaf. She could hear everything loud and clear, including Shane’s booming voice, spewing yet another round of brainless arguments. She had expected this. The moment she decided to make Xena kneel, she knew she would have to deal with the fallout. But it didn’t affect her mood in the slightest. “Let them make a scene.” She leisurely popped a grape into her mouth. “The hospital won’t let them cause a ruckus for long. Security will step in soon enough. You all don’t need to waste your energy dealing with them.” Mike gave a slight nod. “Understood.” As he left, Levi stepped in right behind him. It was his night shift, and he was already irritated. Now, after walking through the hallway and enduring the headache-inducing shouting, his patience was wearing t
As soon as Levi stepped out of the hospital room, he was startled by the scene in the hallway. The Xander family members were all pressed against the wall by William’s bodyguards, while Mike was in the middle of taping Shane’s mouth shut. It was a clear warning to the rest and none of them dared to make a sound. The once-noisy corridor fell into an eerie silence. Levi approached, placing a hand on William’s shoulder. He could feel the tension radiating off him, barely restrained. “William, this is a hospital. Just kick them out. You don’t need to get physical. It’s not a good look.” William ignored him. When he saw Xena struggling to get up to plead, his gaze turned ice-cold. “Kneel back down.” Her legs buckled instantly, and she dropped back to the floor without hesitation. Chris frowned. “Mr. Lucas, I know you’re powerful, but this is going too far—” “She chose to kneel, so she’d better kneel properly.” William’s gaze swept over the group, his tone em
Xena’s heart sank. Her instincts told her that William must have figured something out. But then, she thought again. If he really had solid proof, he wouldn’t be standing here wasting words with me. Calming herself, she showed no hint of fear. “Mr. Lucas, what exactly do you mean by that? Haven’t I made it obvious enough how much I love Sean?“To marry him, I was willing to carry the shame of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy and be labeled as the woman who stole my sister’s fiancé.”She lowered her gaze slightly, looking as if she were in deep pain. “I know what I did was wrong, but I couldn’t help myself. Mr. Lucas, love can’t be forced, and it certainly can’t be controlled.”William said nothing. Her composure was truly impressive. She didn’t let a single crack show, even when cornered. Tired of watching her put on a show, William averted his gaze and strode past her without another glance. Levi quickly followed, trailing behind him as they stepped into the on-call ro
William didn’t respond. Levi didn’t dare push his luck any further and waved a hand dismissively. “Alright, alright. We’ve known each other long enough—no need to be so formal. Miss Xander is my patient. Helping her is just what I’m supposed to do.”But the truth was, he wasn’t just trying to save Layla, he was trying to save William too. If something really happened to her, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what William would turn into.Early the next morning, Levi stopped by for rounds. After checking Layla’s wounds and going over the usual precautions, he casually mentioned that he would be taking some time off. Layla looked surprised. “You’re suddenly taking time off?” “Don’t worry. Before I leave, I’ll make sure everything is set. The doctor covering for me is one of my med school juniors. I’ve given him strict instructions to keep a close eye on you.” He offered a reassuring smile. “Just keep cooperating like before, and everything will be fine.” “That’s
“Obviously, Uncle William told me,” Carter said matter-of-factly. “He was worried about your mental state, so he told me to put work on hold and come back to keep you company.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Carter realized something was off. He turned to Levi, looking nervous. “Uh… Levi, was I not supposed to say that?” Levi sighed in exasperation. “Does it even matter now? You already did.”Layla frowned. “Why wouldn’t you be allowed to say it?” “Uh…” Carter hesitated, at a complete loss. He obviously couldn’t just blurt out that his uncle liked her—that was why he was so meticulous about everything.Levi stepped in smoothly. “William was just worried you’d feel too pressured.”He glanced at Carter knowingly. “I’m guessing your uncle told you to say you just happened to finish work and heard the news after you got back.”Carter immediately took the easy way out. “Exactly! That’s exactly what he told me! Levi, no wonder you’ve been friends with him for so many years
Watching Carly turn and leave without looking back, Layla’s assistant was still fuming. She instinctively took a step to chase after her, wanting to argue. However, Layla reached out and stopped her.“Miss Xander, that was way out of line! Total ungrateful brat!” The assistant couldn’t help venting. “Did she forget how much you’ve done for her since she started here?“If it weren’t for you giving her so many chances, would a fresh grad like her even have gotten to go out on assignments with us?”“It’s fine,” Layla patted her assistant’s shoulder lightly. “Guess I misjudged her.”“But…” The assistant could only sigh in frustration. “Whatever. Right now, the most important thing is figuring out how to fill all these canceled bookings. If this keeps up, she might actually end up being right.”Layla frowned slightly. “You’re not going to ask me…”The assistant gave her an exasperated look. “I’ve worked with you long enough to know what kind of person you are, Miss Xander.”Layla
“You looking for me?” “Where are you going?” They both spoke at the same time.For a second, the moment felt awkward. Layla quickly explained, “Something came up at the studio. I need to head over and deal with it.”“What happened?” William asked, his voice low and serious.“It’s nothing major.”As she spoke, Layla tried to walk past him but William reached out and caught her wrist.“Does it have something to do with the Lucas family?”Layla paused but didn’t look back at him. After a beat of silence, she replied softly, “I’m not sure yet. But even if it does, I’ll take it.“This whole thing is partly my responsibility anyway. Since I chose to get involved from the very beginning, I should’ve been prepared to deal with the fallout. Consider it paying you back for saving me that night — for taking the hit from that car.“Besides,” she added, “you lost your position at Lucas Corporation because of all this. Compared to that, me losing a few client appointments really isn’t
“Miss Jenkins?”The nurse called out to Kiera several times, but she didn’t respond at all. Finally, the nurse reached out and gently tapped her on the shoulder.Kiera snapped back to reality, her tear-reddened eyes turning toward the nurse, making her flinch in shock.“Miss Jenkins, are you okay?” the nurse asked with concern.“I... I’m fine...” Kiera hurriedly put her phone away and wiped at her tears with the back of her hand, not even caring how messy it looked. “Did you need something?”“Your test results are ready. The doctor wants to see you,” the nurse explained. “Also, didn’t you have another report you wanted the doctor to check? If you give it to me, I can help you book the appointment with the right department.”Seeing the nurse reach her hand out, Kiera hesitated for a second. Then she shook her head.“No need. I don’t want it checked anymore.”She looked up at the nurse with a faint smile. Her eyes, still glistening from tears, looked clearer than ever. Along w
“It’s really a boy?” Sean asked.“Mhm. I even brought the report with me.” Xena turned and pulled a folder from her bag. Unfolding the paternity test results, she handed it to Sean, her lips curling into a proud smile. “I had it done at one of the best labs. No chance of a mistake.”Sean glanced at the report, satisfaction flashing across his face. “Good. A son’s good.”Xena leaned closer, her voice sweet and coy. “So… what are you planning to do? In another month, there’s no way I’ll be able to hide this bump.”Like a bucket of cold water, her words instantly doused the small flicker of joy that had just risen in Sean’s heart.“We’ll talk about it later.”Sean folded the report neatly and handed it back to her. “Kiera’s still overseas. We’ll have to wait until she’s back.”Xena had expected this. She wasn’t planning to press him now anyway. She just showed a hint of disappointment. “Okay, I’ll do whatever you say.”Sean gave a quiet hum of approval.Her obedience earned he
Right on time, Xena showed up at Sean’s villa, holding a shopping bag in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other. She pressed the doorbell without hesitation.When Sean opened the door, the first thing he saw was the bright red roses and Xena’s radiant, smiling face framed perfectly behind them.“Sean!” Xena threw herself straight into his arms, acting sweet and clingy like a spoiled girlfriend. “I missed you so much.”Sean hesitated for a second before raising a hand to lightly rest on her shoulder. “Didn’t you say you had something to talk to me about? Let’s talk first.”“What’s the rush?”Xena held up the bag in her hand. “I bought some things and I’ve been learning how to cook from videos online. Tonight, I want you to try my cooking. We can eat and talk at the same time.”Before Sean could respond, Xena was already happily skipping toward the kitchen, casually setting the bouquet down on the island counter.Sean followed her to the doorway, watching her busy figure
Chris had actually been thinking about this for a while. He just hadn’t found the right opportunity to bring it up. Now that Mr. Xander had asked him directly, he decided to go with it.“I want to represent the Xander family and apologize to her. See where she stands.”Mr. Xander fell silent.If Chris had brought this up a while ago, Mr. Xander would have scolded him on the spot without hesitation.But now, things were different.He had just seen Layla shine at the recent charity gala. And after that night, he had given it a lot of thought.If Layla was willing to come back to the Xander family, it would absolutely be a good thing for them.“Alright,” Mr. Xander finally said, making his decision. “Go see how she feels. Now that William’s been kicked out of the Lucas Corporation, if she knows what’s good for her, she should realize that coming back to the Xanders is the smart move.”Hearing this, Shane immediately jumped in. “Chris, I want to go too!”Chris gave him a look. “
Outside the door, Layla hesitated, unsure if she should ring the bell.Suddenly, the door swung open.She froze for a second when she came face-to-face with William.“You need something?” he asked.Snapping out of it, Layla cleared her throat. “Uh… I just wanted to check if you’ve eaten. I made a little too much food tonight.”“I haven’t eaten yet. Let’s go.”Without waiting for her response, William walked right past her and headed straight into the apartment next door like it was the most natural thing in the world.Layla followed behind, feeling more and more puzzled. Why did it feel like William was getting way too comfortable around here? He didn’t even bother with the usual polite small talk anymore.She watched him sit down at the dining table like he owned the place. After hesitating for a moment, she sat across from him and casually served him a bowl of soup.Then, almost without thinking, she started, “I don’t know what your plan is, but if—”“Let’s eat first.”Wil
“If that’s the choice he’s made, then so be it!” Mr. Lucas Sr. said coldly. “As long as he refuses to admit his mistake, he can forget about ever coming back to the Lucas family! From this moment on, I don’t have a son like him!”“Honey, you can’t—” Scarlett tried to plead.But one sharp look from Mr. Lucas Sr. stopped her cold.Facing his overwhelming fury, Scarlett froze in place.Her own son was being kicked out of the family. Her husband was blaming her too. And for the first time ever in this house, Scarlett felt completely alone.She could only stand there helplessly, watching Mr. Lucas Sr. storm off. It wasn’t until Hazel called her name several times that she finally snapped out of it.Scarlett turned to Lucien, guilt filling her heart.“I’m sorry, Lucien. On William’s behalf, I apologize. Focus on recovering. If you need anything, just let me know.”With that, she turned and walked away like a woman who had lost her soul.Zion, of course, didn’t miss the chance to kis
Half an hour later, William walked out of the office with Mike following close behind.His suit jacket was gone. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up, revealing the lean, muscular lines of his forearms.William had always been known for being precise and put-together. He was always calm and composed. But right now, there was nothing calm about him. He carried a dangerous, almost violent edge that sent chills down anyone watching.The secretaries from the Executive Office stood quietly, watching the two men leave without daring to say a word.Outside the Lucas Corporation building, William had just gotten into the car when his phone started to buzz. He glanced at the caller ID, frowning slightly.Not surprisingly, the moment he answered, a man’s gloating voice came through.“Word is, you got kicked out of Lucas Corporation? Damn, looks like the old man finally lost it for real this time!”The man laughed even harder. “Man, this is the best news I’ve heard in forever. Hur