Charlie laughed slightly. It seemed as though Jacob was now very worried that Elaine would find out that Matilda had already returned to Oskia.However, even if he could conceal this thing for a short while, he could not hide it from her for this lifetime.The duration that he could hide this fact from Elaine would depend on the old man’s fortune then.***Lady Wilson was a light sleeper. When she heard the movement outside, she got up from her bed and walked toward the balcony.When she took a look, she realized that Charlie’s house was brightly lit. After taking a closer look, she saw that there were a lot of workers who were planting the fruits and vegetable plants for them!What the hell was this?Shouldn’t they start sowing first if they wanted to plant vegetables? What Charlie was doing was equivalent to moving an entire vegetable plot into his courtyard.A country bumpkin would always be a country bumpkin. He had such a beautiful and good villa but he actually destroye
Claire finally woke up at seven o’clock in the morning. She slept even more comfortably than she did before. She did not dream, nor did she even wake up once throughout the entire night. She seemed to have been in deep sleep throughout the entire night. Therefore, she was filled with energy today.She did not see Charlie after she woke up, but Claire was not surprised. This was because Charlie woke up earlier than her every day.As she knew that Charlie was going to bring her to pick fruits and vegetables today, Claire was in a very good mood. She was really looking forward to it.After she was done washing up, Claire changed into a set of sports attire before she went downstairs.She thought that Charlie would be preparing breakfast at this time. She expected to set out for the suburbs after they were done with breakfast. However, she did not expect Charlie to be waiting for her in the living room.When Charlie saw Claire coming downstairs, he greeted her immediately as he smiled
Then, she looked at Charlie who was standing next to her with a shocked and incredulous expression on her face.“This… I… I am not dreaming, am I, Charlie? Why is there a fruit and vegetable garden in our house?!”Charlie looked at her affectionately before he smiled and said, “My silly wife. Of course, you are not dreaming. Don’t you like picking fruits and vegetables? I got someone to look for the best fruit and vegetable plants in Aurous Hill. I will also take care of this vegetable plot for you in the future to ensure that it will bear abundant fruits and vegetables so that you can pick fruits and vegetables for four seasons in a year!”Claire was so touched that her eyes flushed red!She would never have dreamt that her husband would actually prepare such a big surprise for her!When she was young, she had always been hoping to grow some fruits and vegetables in her yard. She would have been extremely satisfied even if it was just a tomato or pepper plant.However, Lady Wils
This morning, Claire felt as though she was the happiest woman in the world.On the other hand, there was a woman who felt that she was the most unlucky woman in the world.This woman was Hannah, who was in the Silverwing Hospital.She was in the gynecology department waiting for her turn. There was a very long queue ahead of her before it was finally her turn.After entering the room, the doctor started with a routine checkup, but even the experienced doctor gaped in bewilderment when she saw the actual condition Hannah was in and asked, “What is going on? Why did you do this to yourself? Do you not care about your personal hygiene at all?”Although it was a female doctor who attended to her, Hannah’s face turned into an ugly shade of red from her remarks, and she wished she could just vanish from this room right now.She covered her face in embarrassment and said, “Doctor, to be honest, it is because of my man. He doesn’t care about cleanliness all that much…”The doctor compl
Hannah felt dizzy and disoriented when she saw the results!Not only did she get gonorrhea, but she also got syphilis?!The f*cking supervisor was a f*cking king of STDs!He literally caused her all this misery!Hannah’s legs turned to jelly, so she hurriedly leaned against the wall and sat on the ground. As she wiped her tears, she flipped to the third page of the report with shaky hands.The third report said: AIDS antibody HIV, the measured value is 0.11, followed by the reference value indicating ’t get AIDS. It would be the end of her world otherwise!She gulped in relief, finally finding a trace of comfort, and then slowly flipped to the last page of the results.Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG): 5324.2!She read the value over and over again, rolled her eyes upward, and almost fainted!Wasn’t… wasn’t this an indicator of positive pregnancy?!Then, she quickly looked
Hannah was stunned in devastation for a while. The moment she regained her composure, her first thought was to get rid of the baby as soon as possible. She turned to the doctor frantically and asked, “Doctor, when is the soonest appointment for the abortion surgery?”“If you want, I can arrange it for you next week, the earliest is next Monday.”Hannah was startled and panicked when she heard that she had to wait until Monday, and she asked anxiously, “Why do I have to wait until Monday? If it’s about money, I can pay double or ten times the price!”The situation was so serious right now, one day of delay meant a higher possibility that her pregnancy would be discovered. She couldn’t help but be in jitters.The doctor shook her head and stated, “It’s not about the money, but only clinic visits are available during the weekend, there are no scheduled operations. If you want to abort the baby, you have to wait until Monday.”“Alright… let’s do it on Monday, then.”Hannah’s expressi
Christopher said, “Mom asked you to go to the market, buy some meat on your way back, and cook lunch when you get home.”Hannah was a little agitated, but she replied calmly, “Okay, I’ll drop by the market and head home.”***Charlie and Claire were at their little orchard the entire morning, picking the vegetables.Claire was as happy as a lively and carefree 18-year-old girl. She picked the vegetables cheerfully, loosening the soil, and watering the plants seriously.Elaine was still waiting to take photos to upload onto her social media. She was on pins and needles when the couple hung out at the orchard for a very long time.When Charlie and Claire finally entered the house with a large basket of vegetables, she hurried downstairs, took out her phone, and started taking selfies and photos of the garden at every angle possible.After standing under the scorching sun and taking countless photos, she rushed back into her room and quickly applied the aloe vera gel on her exposed
Hearing that it was her grandmother who had stolen vegetables from their yard, Claire sighed helplessly and said, “Mom, if it’s grandma, just let her be. Let her pick whatever she wants, it’s just some vegetables.”Elaine blurted in disdain, “Oh no, you can’t say that. What did your grandma ever give us anyway? Did you forget how she treated us? Huh, after everything she’s done, she has the audacity to steal vegetables from our yard?! No, I can’t let her!”Claire shook her head forlornly. “Mom, don’t overthink this, okay? Grandma wants some for herself too since she sees how fresh and big our vegetables are, don’t be so stingy.”Elaine mumbled in annoyance, “You are a little traitor, hmph!” Then, she turned and headed up the stairs angrily and went back to her room.However, the more Elaine thought about it, the more she felt that they were on the losing side. They had such a wonderful vegetable garden full of top-quality vegetables, she did not even want to spare a single vegetabl
Jacob was naturally gleeful that he could get the late medieval bronze sculpture along with its base. Right after he wired the agreed upon ninety-eight grand to Mr. Cardensky, he was already imagining how Raymond would buy it from him for several hundred grand.On the other hand, once Mr. Cardensky received the transfer, he saw the name on the account: Jacob Wilson.He was left perplexed—wasn't that man's last name Montague? Who was this Jacob Wilson?Still, he didn't worry about it too much since most antique hustlers preferred to work with anonymity and therefore, using a different name was perfectly normal.He then carefully wrapped up the bronze sculpture before passing it Jacob, asking politely, "Would you happen to have any other requests, Mr. Montague? I have plenty of other items here if you'd permit me to give an introduction."Jacob shook his head, "Just this sculpture will do. I'm not fully confident in your work either since this is our first deal, so I'm just trying i
Jacob asked, "Then, what would this sculpture be worth if it was genuine?"Mr. Cardensky thought about it. "Well, there are standards when it comes to Renaissance relics, but with something this exquisite, it'd definitely be auctionable for one or two million—and that's the conservative estimate.""How much would you sell it to me for?" Jacob then asked."Thirty percent of the market price," Mr. Cardensky quickly replied. "As I've said, the conservative estimate for this one is around one to two million, so we will set the price with the median estimate value at 1.5 million. And thirty percent means 450 grand."Jacob shook his head right away. "No, no, no… that's too expensive. What if I end up unable to sell it, on top of that?"In his mind, while he could barely accept that pricing, he still needed Raymond to be able to afford it if he wanted to swindle Raymond for twice the money.Mr. Cardensky quickly chuckled, "Oh, Mr. Montague—now you're being too serious. In this business,
"Okay!"Mr. Cardensky smiled and pointed at a nearby farmyard. "There's our workshop—the good stuff is all in there. Allow me to take you there!"The farmyard seemed uninteresting at first glance, but Mr. Cardensky soon led them to the stables and brushed off the straws covering the floor, revealing a plank laid flat on the ground.Mr. Cardensky then lifted it, revealing a passage below—they had dug a cellar into the ground beneath, with the stables as an entry point.As Jacob followed Mr. Cardensky down the cellar, he exclaimed in awe, "Your operation is definitely big, digging such a huge cellar!"Mr. Cardensky smiled humbly. "Anyone working in the business would have sustained their losses before. In the end, we're all folk of humble origins, starting out with raiding tombs or excavating artifacts. Just digging a cellar is really nothing."As they conversed, they cleared the stairs and arrived at the main hall.It was certainly a hall as it was around a hundred square meters,
Zachary nodded repeatedly. "Mr. Montague? Very well!""Yes!" Jacob grinned smugly. "Longer last names are simply better—it just sounds so authoritative."With that agreed upon, both men alighted, where the master was waiting nearby.Seeing them get off, he hurried over to them, smiling, "Please, follow me."Zachary looked around and huffed, "Honestly, Mr. Cardensky, isn't this way too far from the highway? The road is narrow and terrible, and I have to park my car all the way out here. Just coming here is taxing."Mr. Cardensky smiled in turn. "My friend, that's exactly why we picked this place. Do you remember seeing a couple of cars parked by the road, occupying half of it?""We arranged for them to be there. Anyone coming by car would have to slow down that way, buying time for us to see who they truly are. If it's cops, our watchers would quietly text us while we clean the house and bail."Zachary exclaimed in realization, "You boys really run a tight ship!""For sure," Mr.
After working in Antique Street for years, Zachary's connections and influence were naturally special. And yet, though he was acquainted with some of the more impressive individuals, he was not that close with them either.For example, the forgery masters who worked specifically to deceive experts only accepted jobs from major clients, usually antique traders high in social status and wealth.In contrast, they wouldn't ever be interested in frivolous people like Zachary. Even if he could reach them, they might not look at him twice.If one would describe them as the cartel boss, then Zachary would be a low-level enforcer, managing night joints or goofing off.But now, Zachary had turned over a new leaf—he worked under Don Albert, so one of those masters was pleasantly surprised when he called one of them, inviting him to his own workshop for a visit and further discussion.As such, Zachary picked up Jacob and went over to the master's hideout where the latter worked on his count
Zachary was naturally shrewd enough to read Jacob's intention.In reality, he wasn't offering to pay just because he wanted the profit. He merely wanted to get in Jacob's good graces. After all, wouldn't Jacob be even more grateful that he wasn't just helping his revenge but also helping him make money?As such, he didn't hesitate to tell Jacob, "Well, chief—since you'll be paying, I will make sure that you will get every cent of profit that you deserve."Jacob was grinning ear-to-ear, but he said, "Oh, you don't have to! If we really are making a profit, there's no way I would let your good work go unrewarded!"Spreading his arms, he continued generously, "How about this? I will pay the full cost while you get twenty percent of the net profit!"Zachary laughed. "Now, that can wait, chief. We need to pay as soon as we decide on the item we want, and there's no time for buyer's regret. But if Raymond doesn't take the bait, all that money will go down the drain, and whether we can s
Zachary chuckled and continued, "Well, I went to Antique Street and asked around. Turns out our mutual friend only brought a few hundred thousand grand with him. If he messes up and loses all his money, won't it be over for him?""He won't just be broke either—he'd be humiliated and forced to fuck off from Antique Street. You'd get even then!"Jacob was at once excited.Just yesterday, Claire and Charlie were warning him that assault meant doing time.As the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association and the next presidential-hopeful, he would lose his place if he was charged with assault or being an accessory to a case.However, Zachary's plan was much better. Jacob wouldn't have to take responsibility, and the damage on Raymond would be even worse!In comparison, slapping Raymond meant nothing. Watching him go broke and get humiliated would really ease his heart!With that in mind, he promptly pressed Zachary, "Are you sure that prick will mess up?""I can't a
Jacob Wilson was in his office at the Calligraphy and Painting Association, planning his itinerary in Dubai.Still, he was immediately thrilled when Zachary told him that there was progress, and he quickly said, "Come see me at the Calligraphy and Painting Association. We'll talk in my office!""Alright!" Zachary agreed to it happily. "Just wait, Mr. Wilson. I'll be right there!"Jacob then quickly told him, "By the way, remember to address me as the vice president when you're here. Got it?"Zachary was naturally sharp enough to understand why, especially around other members of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.Smiling, he said, "Don't worry, chief. You can always be at ease when I'm on the job!"Once he hung up, he drove to the Calligraphy and Painting Association at top speed.There were just a dozen people around the dozens of work cubicles although Zachary was curious about the personal effects or office tools in the cubicles.After asking around, a staff member le
Then, Mick continued, "I won't lie—Moore Group's bean counters have been eager to get rid of Vintage Deluxe for a while now. It's only Miss Moore's insistence that keeps them at bay, even occasionally coming to check on how business is going. That means she holds sentiment for this place, but if she knows that Raymond is back and doing well, she might hire him again!"Zachary could laugh right then. After all, Mick was terrible at gathering information—he could worry about anyone taking his palace, but not Raymond. The man was fired because he had insulted Master Wade's father in-law, and Miss Moore was endlessly respectful—even obedient to Master Wade. There was no chance that she would hire Raymond back after what he had done, and Mick was just being paranoid.However, Zachary did not tell Mick that.As Mick was begging him to intervene and thus owing him big time, he would also be helping Jacob Wilson get even.Two birds with one stone, so why not?With that in mind, Zachar