Only now did Charlie know that the news was about Joey.The chat group among the orphanage friends went into a frenzy today.None of them could imagine that they had just had their reunion yesterday, and two friends from the orphanage died today.Max’s death was expected. They knew his true colors and what he did, so they didn’t feel sorry about his death.Joey’s news came like a tsunami to them. They had never thought that Joey, who had always liked to take advantage of others, would turn out to be a murderer.He killed his girlfriend and his girlfriend’s lover!Stephanie sent a tearful emoticon in the group, saying, “Why, why did Joey have to resort to this? Even if his girlfriend cheated, he shouldn’t have done something so horrendous!”Someone replied, “Sigh, although Joey is quite unlikable in person, he is quite pitiful actually. He loved his girlfriend to the moon and back, but this is how she repaid him.”“Joey killed two people, will he be executed?”“The news said th
However, Donald didn’t have time to console Alice at the moment. Instead of feeling sorry for her, as she was on the verge of collapsing in despair, he hated her very much.If it weren’t for her and her good-for-nothing brother, the Webb family would not have suffered such a massive credibility crisis!He didn’t give a d*mn about Nelson’s death, but the video he made right before he died dragged the entire Webb family down with him! It was very likely that the family would lose more than half their assets. If so, they would no longer be the top family in the South Region.Moreover, it was worse to be associated with human trafficking. It was certain that the people of the country would not forget this for a while. Thus, the Webb family would become the target of malicious attacks for a very long time.The consequences of these would result in a devastating and far-reaching effect on the family’s business empire. Perhaps the family’s assets would continue to shrink in the future.I
For the past few months, every day felt like a year to Hannah.She was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wilson family and she had never really suffered a day of sorrow or despair before. In fact, when the Wilson family was at its prime, she was living a lavish and comfortable life.She couldn’t say that she had lived a royal-like extravagant life, but she did have a comfortable life in the past, so the coal mine was a literal living hell for her when she was reduced to mining coal day and night here.However, Hannah still enjoyed the most comfortable life among those who had been sent to the coal mine at the same time.The men had to work fifteen to sixteen hours a day. They didn’t have enough food to eat or warm clothes to wear and they were as skinny as skeletons after being tortured day and night.Linda, the cheater, was similarly miserable. Because she was ugly and the supervisor didn’t fancy her looks, her daily routine and work schedule were no different from the men’s.Ha
Moreover, since the first day Linda and her family were forcefully sent to this living hell, they had been working with heavy tasks, but Hannah? She became the supervisor’s mistress simply because she spent more time maintaining herself than she did!Hence, Linda glared at Hannah disdainfully and cursed, “Some women are so corrupt and brassy that they sleep with the supervisor simply to get some mediocre benefits! They are so shameless!”Hannah knew that she was mocking her. With her face flushed with anger, she chided, “Linda, watch your tongue or I’ll let you starve tomorrow!”Linda stood upright and growled, “Shut up! Why are you so full of yourself, Hannah? You’re sleeping with the nasty supervisor, that’s all! Do you really think I don’t dare to touch you just because you are his mistress? He’ll dump you when he is fed up with you! You’ll end up like me then!”“Linda, I see that you are very lively and comfortable now! Believe me or not, I’ll just whisper to the supervisor and
Hannah was so scared that she tried to roll away from Linda’s reach, for fear that the iron hook would really hit her face.That thing looked so scary, it might gauge her eyes off!However, as Hannah’s leg was injured, she couldn’t avoid the ferocious Linda’s attack continuously. If she went constantly berserk, sooner or later, she would die under her aggression!Hannah tried to stand up and escape, but her injured calf forced her to fall to the floor again.Linda was already behind her, waving the scary iron hook towards her.Hannah could not avoid her anymore. She closed her eyes in despair, thinking that today was the day she would die.Right at this crucial moment, several Toyota Land Cruiser Prados drove into the coal mine and stopped right in front of them.The dazzling headlamp shone directly on Linda’s face. A bunch of men jumped out of the car, before one of them pointed a gun at Linda and shouted, “What the f*ck are you doing? Put down the hook!”Linda was taken aback
Bryan turned to Hannah and asked, “What’s going on here? Are you his woman?”Hannah wailed desperately, “No, I’m not! He forced me!”Bryan turned to the supervisor and said coldly, “Since she doesn’t admit to being your woman, you can stop your bullsh*t with me too.”During this period of time, the supervisor had enjoyed Hannah’s company so much that he was rather addicted to her. He was, after all, an ignorant bumpkin. He had never experienced a fair and tender lady from the city before, so he found Hannah very seductive and lusty. Of course, he wasn’t happy when these men came out of nowhere and wanted to take her away, so he shouted, “I don’t give a d*mn! I’ll tell you again, she is my woman!”Bryan grinned sinisterly. “Well, since you have a death wish, I’ll grant you one.”He took out a dark pistol from his waist, aimed it at the supervisor, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.With a loud bang and a tiny spark from the muzzle, a bullet flew out of the barrel and pen
The coal mine where Hannah was kept was geographically located in the Janes Province of northwest Oskia, which was popularly known for its vinegar and coal.The province was two thousand kilometers away from Sudbury in the southeast and it might take at least one day and one night to travel to Sudbury by car. But since Sean had urged them to be quick, they had assigned the Webb family’s private jet to fetch Hannah.It took nearly three hours for the convoy to drive out of the dense mountain forest and arrive at the local airport.At this moment, a Gulfstream jet was parked on the airport hanger.Hannah gaped in absolute astonishment. She had never dreamed that a private jet would take her directly to Sudbury!Bryan took her on the plane. Her eyes were opened so wide when she saw the luxurious palace-alike interior of the plane, they almost dropped from the eye socket.Bryan frowned disdainfully at her dirty appearance and urged, “Hey, there is a bathroom behind the plane where yo
Under such dire circumstances, everyone in the Webb family could hardly close their eyes and sleep.When Hannah was taken to the Webb family mansion, Bryan did not bring her to the living area directly. Instead, he took her in the servants’ quarters and went over to invite Donald and Sean.The father and son immediately went to see her when they learned about her arrival.As soon as they appeared, Hannah dropped on her knees and thanked them profusely for saving her.Sean said with his emotionless face, “Hannah Wilson, we rescued you not because we sympathize with you, but because we need you to do something for us.”“Yes, yes! Anything!”“I know that you hold a grudge against Charlie Wade. I do too, and my grudge against him is beyond imaginable. Tell me honestly, do you want to get revenge on Charlie?”Hannah’s face blushed with obvious rage as she growled, “Of course! The b*stard almost killed me and he even sent me to the living hell! I want to kill him and chop him up into
Charlie shook his head. "It's alright, Dad. You can go ahead if you're busy—I can pick up Claire on my own.""No way!" Elaine promptly snapped. "It's been so long since she came back. We are all going to the airport!"Jacob sighed in exasperation. "Well, I'm sticking to my schedule—first the Calligraphy and Painting Association, then I'll be back an hour before to pick you guys up before going together to the airport."Elaine was left fuming. "Is there no getting through to you? You really have to go to that stupid association, don't you? Okay, fine. If you must go, I will be going with you!""You're their honored vice president who will be promoted to president soon, no? As Mrs. Vice President and the future Mrs. President, is there an issue if I went for a look?"Jacob shuddered at the thought of Elaine going to the Calligraphy and Painting Association as he absolutely didn't want her to humiliate him with her antics. People would talk, asking how a proper gentleman like him c
Jacob yawned, stretching his arms and smacking his cheeks, before finally retorting in contempt, "For Pete's sake, woman—don't make dissing me a habit. Or does it please you so much?"Elaine pursed her lips. "You call that dissing? It's all facts—do you think I don't know you? Tell me, what qualifications do you have? Your knowledge about calligraphy is skin-deep, and even the frauds working on Antique Street could beat you.""Only you would have the audacity to take the role of vice president at the Calligraphy and Painting Association—heaven's above, how blind is the president to appoint you as his second fiddle? Still, you'll be packing your things as soon as he realizes the truth.""Oh, Elaine, poor Elaine…" Jacob grinned smugly at her right then. "I'm afraid things won't go the way you want. Mr. Bay's been chasing a promotion lately, and once he gets it, I will take his place as president. That means I'll be the top dog instead of second fiddle!""Bullshit!" Elaine snapped in
Jacob slept in the next day while Elaine got out of bed past ten as well.However, in the case of the latter, she wasn't drunk and was simply watching livestreams and video clips on her phone—a hobby she had picked up recently.As for Charlie, he had initially planned to visit the Champs Elys hot spring villa and train Nanako in her Reiki control. However, since Claire would be arriving in the afternoon, he stayed home, planning to leave for the airport when it was time.Elaine appeared groggy as she emerged from the elevator, rubbing her eyes while holding her phone in the other hand.Seeing Charlie cleaning the living room, she asked in curiosity, "Not going out today, Charlie? Aren't you usually going out to meet clients?"Then, she became concerned in an instant, "Wait, don't tell me—the Feng Shui business is falling off? Are we going to be affected altogether?"Charlie laughed. "You're just getting paranoid now. Things are going fine—I'm just giving myself a day's leave.""
"Anyway, we have an issue," Helena continued. "Two days ago, Nvidia launched the B100 processor, their latest product, just two hours ago—a next-generation chip that will outperform our H100 considerably. I've instructed Harrison to pull some strings and preorder a batch from Nvidia before the B100 hits the market, at least ensuring that we can get our hands on 20,000 in the first quarter when the B100 circulates."Charlie asked, "What are Harrison's thoughts on the matter?" "Of course that old fox is going to be reluctant," Helena snorted. "But with the B100's processing strength outclassing the H100's, many AI institutions and multimedia giants are waiting with their wallets wide open. He's complaining that after pulling strings to get his hands on so many H100s, he is too embarrassed to do it again for the B100.""Bullshit," Charlie chuckled. "He's just not keen on us raising our prices after that previous agreement.""Exactly," Helena laughed as well. "He's about the shrewdest
By the time Jacob was sent home, he was almost passed out drunk.As Charlie took him off Walker's hands, Jacob's eyelids were but narrow slits.With his rough facial features, his flushed cheeks, and that strange smile of his, he looked just like those sleazy middle-aged men often seen in animated cartoons.Still, seeing that Charlie had come out of the house to get him, he chuckled drunkenly, "D-Dear boy… Your dad… was so amazing!"Charlie shook his head in exasperation. "You're drunk, Dad—get some rest already. Otherwise, you might wake Mom up and get an earful for this.""Earful?" Jacob's eyes widened ferociously as he snorted, "S-She'd never dare!"Charlie chuckled as he said quietly, "Come on, keep it down—Elaine is plenty daring. And in your state, you stand no chance if she starts to beat you."Despite being drunk a second ago, Jacob suddenly shuddered from the shiver running down his spine, and he promptly corrected himself, "A gentleman… never lays a hand on a woman! T-
Naturally, neither Mr. Bay nor Hal argued with this, thus following Albert and Jacob to the Diamond Room—the grandest room of Heaven Springs.After Albert led the trio there and smiled, "Gentlemen, if you would please take your seats, my people will be delivering Big Red Robe tea and our menu to your table shortly. I've spoken to the kitchen as well, and they will be preparing appetizers first. Please feel free to enjoy a game of poker until everyone arrives, and the main courses will be delivered right away."His arrangement was utterly detailed, and the trio were awash with gratitude.Hal and Mr. Bay especially were looking upon Jacob worshipfully, as if he was an unassuming bigwig on Charlie's level.Soon, as the invited guests arrived, Albert personally brought two bottles of 3-liter Moutai that cost an arm and leg to the Diamond Room.For politeness's sake, Hal ordered two more bottles of one-liter Moutai, meaning that it was one liter for the eight persons in attendance.Th
Don Albert was waiting at the front doors of Heaven Springs when Jacob's Cullinan arrived.He was absolutely enthusiastic in welcoming the man, even stroking his ego as much as possible as he knew Jacob and his vanity—which made that a must.Hence, as soon as Jacob stopped the Cullinan, Don Albert and the manager of Heaven Springs were immediately on hand to receive him.Mr. Bay was riding shotgun but recognized Albert right away, exclaiming, "Shit, he's coming personally to receive you too?"Jacob chuckled. "Well, he and my son-in-law have a lot of respect for each other, so I guess that respect is extended to us as well."As they spoke, Albert had reached the Cullinan and opened the door for Albert, nodding at him respectfully, "Greetings, Mr. Wilson. You can leave the keys with Mr. Carson while I escort you and your friend upstairs.""Thank you very much." Jacob grinned and turned to Mr. Bay. "Come on. Let's go.""Yes, yes, of course!" Mr. Bay smiled and nodded, a little nerv
Mr. Bay's friend promptly asked, "Was it the manager, Mr. Carson?""Nope," Mr. Bay chuckled. "Guess again.""Oh, come on!" Mr. Bay's friend whined. "You're still telling me to guess now? Just so you know, those bigwigs were so pleased when I told them we'd have the Golden Room and said they'd be bringing their cards. I'd be laughed at if I didn't give them the details right now!"Mr. Bay laughed. "Alright, alright, I'll quit being mysterious—it's Jacob Wilson, my vice president. He contacted Don Albert of Heaven Springs personally, and the man promised you the Diamond Room and the finest wines of his cellar!""Holy shit!" Mr. Bay's friend gasped. "Mr. Wilson did? For real?! And the Diamond Room on top of that?!""Indeed," Mr. Bay nodded. "And you know me. Would I kid when it comes to such matters?"Mr. Bay's friend breathed a long sigh as if he had just cheated death. "Heavens… Thank you so much, my friend! You've really saved my skin there! You have no idea how much persuasion t
Jacob wasn't really concerned with the invitation. He wouldn't be going anyway, and he wouldn't tell Elaine about it.Right now, he had a question.After hanging up on Walker, he asked curiously, "A designated driver would be just a few dozen bucks at most. Why get Walker?"Mr. Bay sighed meaningfully. "Jacob, my boy—it's not just my job description you must handle when you succeed me. You must understand the unspoken rules of the workplace as well as interpersonal relationships."Raising his right index finger, he chuckled, "Earning the loyalty of subordinates is a science. But it has to be a carrot and stick—never just the carrot, while offering them chances to be of service.""Take Walker, for example. As his boss, buying him lunch is 5 points. Ask for a favor, but it's 50 points instead!""As a leader, you should also make sure to give requests that are reasonable. That way, they will consider you to be their ally, or soon enough.""People are strange that way—psychology sim