The relationship between the prestigious families of Eastcliff was very intricate. Noble intermarriage was a common practice between these families, similar to the royal intermarriage where members of the ruling dynasties married into other reigning families.After all, every family had both male and female offspring, and when they reached the marriageable age, they were bound to look for suitable spouses. Since it was impossible for them to choose a spouse from ordinary families, their only options were the descendants among the prestigious families.It could be said that all of these prestigious families were more or less related by marriage between each other. In fact, some families that had many offspring would extend their intermarriage practice to the large network of other prominent families.In Europe, royal intermarriage was very common among monarchies where their kings and queens were related to each other, and this was because the royal families throughout Europe were
After a series of inspections and examinations, the doctor concluded that Dylan’s grandmother had indeed injured her tailbone and needed at least a week of bed rest.Because the old lady was in extreme pain, the doctor gave her a numbing injection and a painkiller injection.Dylan followed his mother to his grandmother’s ward, embarrassed.As soon as he entered the ward, his father Leonard quickly walked up and slapped him across the face with all his force, and chided loudly, “You hopeless b*stard! You’re beyond redemption! Luckily your grandmother hasn’t injured herself badly, or I’d f*cking kill you otherwise!”Dylan had never been punished since young. His father’s abrupt slap made him dumbfounded and aggrieved.His grandmother was a little heartbroken to see his grandson being slapped, so she said, “Leonard, that’s enough. Dylan is still young, it’s normal for the youngsters to behave like this although it isn’t glorious.”Lord Koch was not as magnanimous as his wife. He gla
It was only after the surgery that the ruby necklace was finally removed from the miserable Dylan’s intestines.What awaited him was fifteen days of absolute bed rest, so he had to lie down in the VIP room of his family’s hospital like a mummy.As the continuous usage of the patient-controlled epidural analgesia pump could cause damage to the body, the pump was removed at the second of his surgery, which was followed by the constant pain as he wiggled on the bed in an excruciating grimace.The more intense the pain was, the more intense the hatred he had toward Charlie.He couldn’t wait to recover quickly and then make his way to Aurous Hill to settle the score with Charlie. It would be best to cut him into a million pieces to restore his tarnished reputation as the third young master of the Koch family.Charlie, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about him.Claire’s high school friend was getting married over the weekend. Since he had promised his wife that he would borrow th
Claire said a little anxiously, “I’m afraid that I’m not good at driving these cars. Their engines are extremely powerful, so I fear I’ll lose control and subsequently cause an accident. It would be troublesome if I scratch their cars.”Charlie said with a gentle smile, “Don’t worry, dear. Don’t put too much burden on yourself, just think of them as our own cars.”Claire uttered, “You’d better teach me how to drive these cars, which button does what, and so on.”Charlie nodded. “Alright, come, I’ll teach you how to drive this Bugatti.”At this moment, a brand new Bentley Continental cruised into the Thompson First villa complex.The one behind the wheel was Harold, who was dressed in a smart suit that didn’t match his grisly face.Sitting in the front passenger seat was his father, Christopher.In the back row sat Lady Wilson and Wendy.Recently, the money that the Webb family had promised them had been transferred into the Wilson family’s account. They had used the money to re
Lady Wilson had always despised Charlie and his family.When she had begged them to return to the family, they refused to the very end. Now that she had obtained a huge investment from the Webb family, she didn’t need to take them seriously at all.Besides, she felt that Charlie and the family were simply appearing strong outwardly while they were actually weak inwardly.Although they lived in the luxurious Thompson First villa, that was all they had.Charlie and Jacob had no jobs and no income, simply lingering around the house all day.Claire owned an office, but the scale of her business was very small and the revenue generated from her own business seemed scarce at the moment.Hence, Lady Wilson was convinced that despite them living in the Thompson First villa, it was because they were barely able to afford to live in it, but realistically speaking, they were not as rich as she currently was.Previously, when she needed their support and begged them to return to the family,
Elaine was lying on the bed, watching a drama on her phone. She was bored to tears since she couldn’t go anywhere due to her injury, hence, she spent her time watching dramas.When the drama was at the peak of its plot, the loud and ear-deafening honk echoed continuously from outside her house which irritated her to the extreme. She stomped to the balcony to have a look and saw a brand new Bentley parked in front of her house. The annoying honking came from the same car.Elaine shouted angrily, “Hey, who the f*ck are you? Are you f*cking crazy? Why are you honking in front of my house?”Christopher saw Elaine standing on the balcony yelling expletives through the car window. He grinned and said, “Look, Mom, the shrew is out cursing!”“Haha!” Lady Wilson was overjoyed by Elaine’s reaction and said, “That shrew loves money the most, and if she knows that we are getting back on track, she’ll be so pissed off and jealous. I’ll create an illusion inside her head that I’m willing to acce
Upon hearing Lady Wilson’s words, Elaine was taken aback and upset.Did someone really invest in the Wilson family? Was he or she crazy?Among the lousy few that were left in the Wilson family, who could they bring to the table? It was absolutely impossible that these people could get Wilson Group back on track! Investing in their company would be like throwing money down the drain!Thinking of this, Elaine immediately sneered. “Hey, old bat, please drop your pathetic act in front of me. Based on what I know about you and your lousy family members, even if Wilson Group reopens, it will definitely go bankrupt again in a few days. Just look at what you have left in the feeble family of yours! What can you expect from Harold the loser anyway? You should be thankful if he doesn’t spend all your money!”Elaine’s remarks also hit Lady Wilson’s sore spot.Although Donald Webb had invested in their company, it in no way meant that they would be able to be at ease in the future.After all
In Lady Wilson’s opinion, vanity was the great flaw in Elaine’s character. Besides, she was also very greedy and a freeloader. If Lady Wilson were to give her a Bentley for real, she would definitely try to persuade Claire to succumb to her request.However, Lady Wilson overlooked another attribute in Elaine’s character, which was holding a grudge!Elaine loved to gain advantages by unfair means, but she held grudges to the extreme.Previously, she had been persuading Claire to return to Wilson Group because she had no grudge against Lady Wilson other than some minor conflicts.These minor conflicts wouldn’t have any effect on Elaine when it came to money.The tables had turned now!Elaine’s hostility towards Lady Wilson went off the charts!When they were in the detention center, Lady Wilson had influenced Jennifer to torture Elaine severely. Not only did they torture her by all means but they had also broken her leg before she left. Because of these tormenting experiences, Ela
Hearing what Jacob had said, Elaine became anxious and pressed him as he hung up, "What's going on? You're leaving? But we just got here! My shoes have just caught Dubai dirt, so why are we leaving so soon—"However, Jacob was wiping the sweat off his brow as he mumbled quietly, "Well, at this point, I have to leave or I won't be vice president anymore."Elaine immediately fumed. "We've been married for half our lives, and this is supposed to be our honeymoon, yet we're just leaving? I've posted about this on social media too—there are plenty of people who're waiting for more posts on our trip!"And don't forget—we spent a lot on our flight tickets and our hotels! The hotel bookings can't be refunded either!"Jacob scowled dolefully. "Well, what can we do? Why don't you stay? I'll go home and get this sorted out first….""Well, how long would that take?" Elaine asked."How should I know?" Jacob sighed, uneasy and annoyed. "Don Albert is saying I have to go back and donate the 300
"But I spent 98 thousand on that bronze sculpture!" Jacob exclaimed in agitation before he knew it. "I made 300 thousand from it, and that means my profit was 200 thousand at best, but I'm supposed to return that to him as well?! That means I'd have lost my own capital too!""I can't help you if you can't bear to part with that money, Mr. Wilson," Don Albert said quietly. "In that case, you'll just have to handle it yourself.""Wait, wait, wait!" Jacob immediately became antsy and cried out right then, "Please, Don Albert! I'll return the money! I'll return it, alright?! The entirety of my profits—202 thousand, okay? At least let me keep the money I spent, okay?""By that reasoning, Mr. Wilson, when a phone scammer is told by the cops to return the money they've made from defrauding, should he be allowed to keep the money he spent on telco charges? ""Oh, I…" Jacob was left stumped and could not come up with an answer.Don Albert then pressed on, "Mr. Wilson, I've offered a prom
"Mr. Wilson, what you boys did was truly heinous!" Don Arnold growled. "I scolded Zachary myself when I found out, and I was the one who told him to post that statement!"Jacob was shocked. "But why, Don Arnold? Are you friends with Raymond Cole?""Never met the guy," Don Arnold replied.That left Jacob even more confused. "Then why are you taking his side?""I've been doing my best to clean up my image over the past couple of years," Don Albert replied coolly. "I rarely get involved in mob business or anything illicit, and everyone in Aurous Hill knows that Zachary is my right-hand man, yet he confessed to committing such a heinous crime behind my back. What is that if not sullying my reputation?"Jacob was left reeling as he didn't expect Don Albert to be so serious, but he quickly explained, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect it to affect you so terribly… It's all Zachary's fault! I wouldn't have been aware that Raymond had returned at all, but he just had to tell me and come up with
At this point, Don Albert could very well be Jacob's personal messiah.Even if he did threaten Zachary with calling Charlie persistently, he actually wouldn't dare call Charlie.After all, how would he start explaining that he was involved in a crime? And telling Charlie was basically telling his daughter—what would they think of him after this? Would he ever be able to hold his head high in the family again?As such, his only option now was to ask Don Albert and see if he would help.What he didn't know was that Don Albert was with Charlie, who had already anticipated Jacob's move.When Jacob realized he couldn't stop Zachary, Jacob would find someone who could, and Don Albert was the best man for the job!To no surprise, Don Albert's phone soon started ringing with a call from Jacob.Don Albert didn't answer right away, however, instead turning toward Charlie as he asked gingerly, "So, shall I stick to your script, Master Wade?"Seeing Charlie nod, he pressed on, "Should I
As soon as Jacob sent the voice message, Mr. Bay called.Jacob quickly answered, asking nervously, "How are things over there, Mr. Bay?""How, you ask…?" Mr. Bay sighed in exasperation. "The entire Calligraphy and Painting Association was demanding your dismissal as soon as Zachary Evans posted his statement, thinking that you have no business being the administrative vice president let alone have a place in the association."Even those officials came asking me questions, and you know how they are—gossipers, every last one of them, always finding out about the juicy stuff instantly even if it's really no big deal. The only excuse I have to stop them is that we don't have the facts, but this issue still needs to be taken care of."So, be straight with me. Were you a part of this? If you don't, do you have any definitive evidence that can refute Zachary's claims?""I… Uh…" Jacob stammered, unable to answer.He certainly wanted to say no, but he had no evidence to back himself up.
Jacob bellowed furiously, "Raymond Cole made over 19 million dollars! From my bronze sculpture! Yet you're telling me to refund that 300 thousand too?! You're just fucking with me, aren't you?!""Well, if you don't like it, just do what you like, then," Zachary replied calmly and quickly hung up before Jacob could answer.Jacob was left twitching and shaking endlessly, and there was no telling if it was from rage or fear.Beside him, Elaine quickly asked, "What did Zachary say, dear? Can he get that bronze sculpture back?"Caught by surprise at her question, Jacob flinched, and his phone slipped out of his grasp.As it seemed to hover in the air, he tried to catch it twice but failed, but Elaine managed to grab it.It was then that she noticed that he was sweating all over his face, and she promptly asked, "What's wrong, dear?"Coming to his senses, Jacob's eyes went wide with rage. "Zachary is trying to kill me! He leaked the whole thing to his Twitter page—it's like he's pulli
Jacob turned his phone's loudspeaker on before switching panels to Twitter.He was already shocked to find dozens of people directly messaging him, and he was naturally curious why so many of them were looking for him while he was on his trip to Dubai.However, he had no time to find out as he promptly tapped on his social feed, and it took much swiping to reach Zachary's apology post.He tapped on it, scanning through it just before he went dizzy, the world spinning around him while a dull hum rang in his ears.Never would he have expected Zachary to spill the beans, leaking every detail including Jacob's name and contact information. What was that if not mutual destruction?!Absolutely furious, he bellowed at Zachary again, "What the fuck is this?! Are you trying to kill me, posting this shit?!""I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson, but I've come to understand how grave of a mistake I've made," Zachary calmly replied. "I've actually visited Treasure Measure earlier to apologize to Mr. Cole
Within hours, Jacob and Elaine's flight had landed at Dubai International Airport, and the first thing he did was turn off his phone's flight mode.Then, staring at the upper right corner, he waited for the phone to find a network signal.He had connected to international data roaming, and within a few dozen seconds, he was connected to the internet.Once he did, a ton of notifications popped up on his phone, but he didn't care to check any of them and instead opened his contacts and called Zachary.Zachary was in his office, ready to do his usual rounds inspecting Don Albert's premises.While he had indeed completely lost his reputation at Aurous Hill's Antique Street after pinning that post on top of his social page and was given plenty of weird looks by people around him, he didn't care because he knew how to prioritize.Right now, the most important thing that he had to do was put all his body and spirit into his work and not get distracted by anything else.Only then could
The man who had called out to him shrugged. "Zachary posted it on his account. Check it out yourself!"Mick promptly tapped out of his message editor, refreshed his social feed, and immediately saw Zachary's apology post.Once he tapped on it and read it, he almost had a stroke and was cursing before he knew it, "Fuck technology! It's like a self-exploding truck! Fuck you, Zachary Evans, blowing yourself up before I could end you! What a bitch!" Naturally, the post also made Jacob infamous.The Calligraphy and Painting Association more or less had a stake in the antique trade, and the members were shocked that Jacob was involved in such a scandal.Within minutes, word reached Mr. Bay, leaving him pacing around in his office anxiously.Mr. Bay was eager to suck up to Jacob too, which was why he had intended to let Jacob inherit his position as president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association after he was promoted.But while he thought it was as good as done, he didn't expec