Even until Claire came home from work, Jacob was still looking sulky and lifeless.Charlie knew that he was sulking because of the invitation card of the auction.At this moment, Jasmine called and said, “Hi, Mr. Wade, I’m sorry, I was at Lancaster for some business affairs this afternoon, and now I’m at the downstairs of your house, can you please come and get the invitation card from me?”Charlie answered straight away, “Okay, I’ll go now!”He hurried off the door and went downstairs.Jasmine was in her Rolls Royce, waiting for Charlie. When she spotted him, she hurriedly got out of the car and handed him two invitation cards.Charlie thanked her graciously and returned home.Back home, Jacob was still sulking and angry.Claire tried to persuade him, “Dad, please, calm down. Grandma gave Harold the invitation card for him to know a few people in the business industry and the upper-class social society, and also to build his own social network.”Jacob sighed. “Huh, your grand
When Elaine heard about the bracelet that was worth five or six million, her eyes opened wide and there was a dash of sparkles in it!“Bracelet? Where is it? Show me!”Charlie was getting a little cautious. He said calmly, “Mom, the bracelet is in my bedroom, but I plan to return it.”“What? Return it?” Elaine frowned in dismay. “Are you out of your mind? Why do you want to return such a precious gift?”“It’s just a small favor, I don’t deserve such an expensive gift.”“Shut up!” Elaine blurted, “Since he already gave it to you, then just take it! Where is the bracelet? If you don’t want it, I want it!”Charlie knew what was playing in his mother-in-law’s cunning mind. He actually wanted to give the bracelet to Claire, but he couldn’t think of a suitable excuse for it, so he put it aside for the meantime, who knew that his father-in-law would blurt it out so casually!It’s not that Charlie was reluctant to give away the bracelet. He had nearly 10 billion dollars in his card, he
Jacob was extremely thrilled. This was his first time coming to such a high-end occasion. He couldn’t stop looking around but his limbs were moving awkwardly due to his anxiety.He clutched the invitation card tightly and handed it at the entrance of the venue, worrying that the invitation that Charlie had gotten them was fake.However, the security at the door scanned the card and verified them. Then, he turned to both of them and said respectfully, “Welcome, please enjoy yourself!”Jacob heaved a sigh of relief and walked in with Charlie.As soon as they entered, Harold, who dressed up as if he was at a beachside party, walked in with a swagger. Upon seeing them, Harold frowned, as a dash of shock flashed across his face.Charlie and Jacob were here too!What were the two deadbeat losers doing here? The Wilson family had only one invitation card and he was holding it! Had they tried to sneak in without anyone noticing?When he thought about the misery he suffered because of
Harold was fast, but Charlie was faster. He avoided the grab and in a swift action, he clasped Harold’s wrist, shook it slightly, and sneered. “What? Is the injury on your hand healed? Pain is forgotten where gain follows huh?”Harold suddenly felt an enormous force surging into his body. He took two steps backward, feeling furious and shocked at the same time.This loser’s strength was quite powerful!Knowing that he was out of Charlie’s league, Harold growled coldly, “Damn it, you wait here, I’ll get the manager and kick you out!”Then, Harold turned his head and shouted for the manager to come.Soon, a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes walked quickly, with two security guards tagging along. The man managed a diplomatic smile on his face and said to Harold respectfully, “Yes, Mr. Wilson, how can I help you?”“Manager, check their invitation.” Harold pointed disdainfully at Charlie. “I suspect that theirs are fake.”For privacy and security reasons, the guest’s name
The crowd suddenly made way to form a passage in the middle, a man and a woman slowly walked into the hall.The woman wore a black evening dress that hugged her perfect and slender figure.Under the bright illumination, she was utterly beautiful and elegant, every move she made, even her walking posture, was exceptionally gracious.The woman was so beautiful that Harold couldn’t remove his gaze off of her.Jasmine walked into the venue, scanned around, saw two empty seats in the VIP section in the front row, and asked, “Where are my two VIP guests? Have they not arrived yet?”Finn Baxendale looked through the guest’s information and frowned. “Miss Moore, the scanner from the entrance indicated that the invitation cards of the two VIPs have been verified, they must have entered our hall, but we don’t know where they are right now.”Then, he ordered his staff, “Call the manager to see me.”Soon, the manager sprinted to them and asked, “Mr. Baxendale, what’s the matter?”Finn poin
Harold wanted to take this opportunity to establish a friendship with Finn, but never did he expect that Finn would suddenly kick him without a warning.He rolled on the floor several times before he could stabilize himself. He sat on the ground and blurted in a daze, “Mr. Baxendale, what is going on, there must be some misunderstanding…”The crowd was instantly shocked by the sudden commotion.“That’s the guy from the Wilson family, right? How did he offend Mr. Baxendale?”“The Wilson family? They are so insignificant already. Now that they’ve offend Mr. Baxendale, I think that’s it for them in Aurous Hill, huh?”There was a lot of shrill and gossiping whispers going on in the hall.Most of them were there simply to watch how Finn would beat the crap out of Harold.Finn glared at Harold and snorted, “Misunderstanding? F*ck you!”He lifted his legs again and stomped it hard on Harold, which sent the man wailing in agonizing pain.Finn was still burning in wrath. He stomped on
Charlie rejected Jasmine’s offer. “I’m sorry, Miss Moore, but my mood today had been ruined by those two irritating flies, so I won’t go back to the auction. Let’s keep a rain check on it.”Jasmine said apologetically, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Wade.”Then, she returned to her car to retrieve a wooden box and put it in Charlie’s hand. “Mr. Wade, this is a little token of my affection as an apology…”The moment the box was on Charlie’s hands, he could sense traces of Reiki from it, so he accepted it wholeheartedly.Jasmine was very glad that Charlie accepted her gift, so she continued, “Well, I’ll suspend today’s auction and ask Finn to regroup and observe his team of staff in the Treasure Pavilion. When he is ready, we’ll hold another auction sale, and I hope Mr. Wade and Mr. Wilson will be willing to join us then.”Jacob was astounded since he stumbled upon the woman. She was Miss Moore who appeared at the Vintage Deluxe when he smashed the antique vase, wasn’t she?She was so polite t
Neither of the women were at home when they returned. Elaine was still out playing cards, and Claire had not gotten off work yet.Charlie went back to his bedroom and carefully took the lightning-struck wood out of the box.He could sense a dense Reiki radiating from the wood.Sitting on the floor cross-legged, Charlie put the wood in his palm, closed his eyes, executed the mental strength written in the Apocalyptic Book, and slowly inhaled the Reiki into his body.When he opened his eyes, he felt that his eyes were sparkling and rejuvenated. The aura in his body had a dramatic change.On the other hand, the Lightning Strike Dragon Blood Wood in his hand became a little dim.Although it lost its Reiki, there was still some strong thunderous breath remaining, which proved that the wood was a treasure.If he had other magical things with him right now, he could use it to refine some simple magical artifacts.It was already dark when he came out of the room.As soon as he arrived
Pausing, Charlie then said, "I'll call Steve to drop by later too. I'm sure folks in Aurous Hill won't know him, but your potential troublemaker might.""I-Is that really fine?" Yolden blurted."What's not fine about it?" Charlie chuckled. "He has been treated like a tool ever since he came to Aurous Hill, and now that he has a chance to strut about, he wouldn't ask for more."Yolden appeared slightly relieved at that, and Charlie asked, "By the way, where's Paul, Matilda, and Autumn?""Getting their makeup done," Yolden replied. "Paul's my best man while Autumn's the maid of honor.""Good," Charlie nodded with a grin. "Don't worry—the wedding's going to be a success."As they spoke, Matilda stepped out of the dressing room in a stark-white wedding dress, flanked by Autumn and Paul.Seeing Charlie, Autumn nodded politely, "Good morning, Mr. Wade."As Charlie nodded in turn, Paul started, "G-Good morning… Mr. Wade…"Seeing that he was nervous and tentative, Charlie knew that he
As Yolden and Matilda were remarrying after living abroad for years, the wedding ceremony was much simpler, skipping Oskian customs and having a simple wedding reception for their guests at the hotel hall.There weren't that many guests either—aside from their children and close friends, only a handful of Yolden's colleagues at Aurous Hill University were invited.As the celebrant, Charlie didn't have much to do and was mainly the emcee.He brought along his jacket as he headed out to Shangri-La, not wearing it immediately so that Claire wouldn't guess that he was attending Matilda's wedding.Arriving at the Hanging Gardens before the guests were supposed to arrive, he found Yolden working with the staff to finalize the preparations.Seeing Charlie, Yolden approached him and said, "Thanks for coming this early, Charlie."Noticing that he was a little tired, Charlie asked in concern, "Had a bad night?"Yolden nodded, sighing, "Paul's uncle caused a huge mess. Both Matilda and I a
Tarlon nodded. "How do you suggest we find them?"Fleur scowled. "There's no rush. There are things which I'm still confused about, so just keep a close eye on the Ackers and the Wades for the time being. Report to me right away if anything important comes up—don't afford our enemies any opportunities to exploit.""Yes, milady!" -The next day, more news outlets were covering the joint project between the Ackers and the Wades as word continued to spread.However, neither family revealed too many details, be it the name of the company, who was the CEO, or the scale of their business.While the public was dying with curiosity, nothing else was known.Still, Aurous Hill's officials were especially interested, with the town hall visiting the Ackers the next day and showing utmost sincerity by leasing a whopping 2-million-square-meter land along the southern highway. Still, the condition was for the Ackers to come true on their promise to propel the city's economy to 15 billion US d
Fleur had repeatedly mentioned the conspiracy theory of Ashley using a body double over the last twenty years.Tarlon had investigated from many different angles, but everything from the gender, age, dental records, to body figure pointed to the fact that the deceased was Ashley Acker.And yet, Fleur had never bought it, insisting that Curtis was prepared for them just because Curtis' son had gone missing soon after.There was no way Curtis would save his son but not his wife, and the disfigured corpse only added fuel to Fleur's suspicion.Thus, over the last twenty years, Fleur had kept a close eye on the Ackers, arranging for two 'scholars' to be embedded amongst their ranks as sleeper agents. She went that far all to determine if Ashley was dead or had faked her death.However, the scholars had since been killed in action, and they had no spies within the Ackers left.As for Tarlon, he still doubted Fleur's theory even now, but he remained respectful as he spoke, "Milady, I mu
Meanwhile, on the edge of the South Pole, Tarlon Griffin rushed outside of Fleur Griffin's room, knocking the door gingerly as he announced, "I have news, my lady!"Fleur didn't respond, but the thick wooden door between them slowly opened as if pushed by an invisible force.Tarlon entered to find Fleur seated on the floor with her legs crossed at the ankles. Her eyes remained closed as she molded her Reiki, asking, "What is it?"Tarlon quickly answered, "News from Oskia. The Ackers are partnering with the Wades on a joint venture into electric-powered vehicles."Fleur slowly opened her eyes, asking quietly, "And you're telling me because?"Tarlon quickly explained, "It just came out of the blue, so I thought I should report it to you right away."Fleur sighed. "After I tried and failed to wipe out the Ackers so many times, they wouldn't dare set foot stateside. If anything, they must have decided to seek asylum in Oskia by offering a substantial investment, and it's a base whe
Silent for a while, Matilda then asked Yolden, "Do you think I can do it?""Yes!" Yolden nodded without hesitation. "You definitely won't have any problems!"Matilda sighed, shaking her head. "We traveled far abroad to study while we were young, but we didn't return to Oskia to help the country's development. It's been thirty years since, and now that we have returned to the country at the same time, I definitely wouldn't turn down such an opportunity to help."Pausing, she then said, "That said, major corporations make it a point to not hire family members. Forget spouses—employees aren't allowed to date, and one of the two will be asked to resign if necessary."Don't you think it's inappropriate since we are legally married, having gotten our certificate and all? And if we set these precedents, we would have trouble asking other employees to follow that policy. You are going to be a CEO, so you need a very clear answer on this issue."Yolden shrugged. "In the first place, that p
Yolden nodded slightly. "He does.""My gosh…" Matilda murmured. "That's too much… Ashley's son? A member of the Acker family and the Wades?!"Pausing, she then asked in confusion, "Wait, if Charlie has so much power and influence, why would he permanently reside in Aurous Hill… No, why would he be content as Jacob Wilson's son-in-law? Does Jacob know who he really is?""Definitely not," Yolden shook his head. "There were some compelling circumstances, and his identity is a sensitive one. That's why I'm asking you to tell no one except Paul—and even then, you should only tell him if he can keep the secret."Matilda was sharp enough to pick up on the reasoning, too. "Charlie's hiding because of his parents' accident, isn't he?""Yes," Yolden sighed. "He has his plans, but I didn't pry since I can only do that much, let alone help him on that.""Got it," Matilda nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry. My lips are sealed… And you just said you're resigning? Are you going to help with this e
"That would be Ashley Layna Acker," Matilda replied without hesitation. "She was our age, as well as a major investor in Silicon Valley, while we were only starting to get our first clients. It's no exaggeration to say that she's the shining example in many case studies when it comes to business."Pausing, she then continued, "And she used to be your classmate, right? I remember you mentioning that in our conversations before.""Yes," Yolden sighed emotionally. "She was a classmate and the star of our generation."Matilda nodded but soon shook her head, "Wait, weren't we talking about Charlie's car company? What does that have to do with Ashley Acker?" "Here's where I let you in on a secret," Yolden said. "But first, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone except Paul."Matilda nodded without hesitation. "Don't worry—if it's a secret, I won't tell Paul either."Yolden scratched his head. "Actually, Paul should know. We are going to marry soon, and he's my stepson, lega
In fact, the legal department of major enterprises covered many responsibilities, the chief of which concerned intellectual property, which was why veterans were needed to lead.Additionally, Charlie trusted Matilda's accomplishments in the legal field, especially since she had worked in the United States for years.With Curtis Autos' intended expansion worldwide, that meant the legal department should also know the laws of countries abroad, ready to file or respond to lawsuits at any time. After all, competitors may use the law to impede their growth, along with the government applying unfair policies to impede their development and impact on local businesses.Moreover, Charlie considered Paul young and therefore lacking in experience, not to mention that it was not likely he would abandon his family's law firm. As such, the ideal solution was to poach Matilda for now.As for Matilda, she was still in the dark and had no idea what she was in for, asking Charlie in confusion, "Lega