The moment Jasmine appeared, everyone was struck dumb except Charlie. No one would have imagined that Jasmine, who was missing with no news about her life and death, would suddenly appear at the press conference. Just a second ago, Moore Group had just announced Tyler as the new chairman after a board meeting because the company could not confirm whether Jasmine was still alive. However, the next second, Jasmine was suddenly back! Almost no one could accept this huge twist. Even the movies were not scripted this way! The one who could not accept this reality the most was naturally the new chairman of Moore Group—Tyler. At this moment, Tyler looked at Jasmine. He was so angry that eye sockets were about to crack open! His eyes goggled widely, his eyeballs reddened. At the same time, blood veins crawled all over them. That pair of eyes almost fell out of its eye sockets. He would never have dreamt that Jasmine could return from Japan ali
Under the gaze of the crowd, Jasmine strode toward the podium. At this moment, many journalists reached out their microphones. There was one journalist who sounded breathless and crazed as he asked, “Ms. Moore, Ms. Moore. I’m a journalist from the South Region Financial Times. I would like to know, how did you escape alive from the accident over the cliff in Japan?” Jasmine stopped walking, smiled, and answered, “When the accident happened, fortunately, I wasn’t in the car.” Another person asked, “Ms. Moore, since you were not in the car, after so many days, the Japanese police were still looking for you, so why didn’t you show up?” Jasmine replied lightly, “The reason I didn’t show up was because I suspected the accident had purposely been set up by people who were out to get me. For my safety, I decided not to show up.” Once these words came out, the crowd gasped! Jasmine’s accident had been purposely set up?! If this was true, that meant there were p
At this moment, Tyler was still under the impression that what he had done had not been exposed. At the same time, he mumbled to himself, “It doesn’t matter if that d*mned Jasmine has come back. Now that that old thing has lost his mind, she will lose her only support in Moore Group, and I have all the chances in the world to trap her in the future!”At this time, Jasmine looked at Tyler and asked in a crisp voice, “Uncle Tyler, I heard that the board of directors elected you as the new chairman because I was not here, am I right?”Tyler rubbed his hands rather awkwardly and forced a smile. “Haha… I… Uh… Everyone agreed that the company couldn’t be without a leader, so they elected me to replace you.”Jasmine nodded and said seriously, “In that case, I thank you for supporting me and the company while I wasn’t here.”With that, she diverted the subject and asked, “Uncle, you just said that if I came back, you would voluntarily return the chairman position to me. That’s still vali
Charlie smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, Mr. Moore. There will be no confidential matter discussed in today’s board meeting.”“Uh…” Hearing this, Tyler became even more nervous, and his heart began beating violently.He thought, ‘What the hell does he mean by that? Why does he sound like he knows everything?’Just then, the door of the conference hall was pushed open, and more than thirty people in black barged in.The directors of the Moore Group were all startled by this shocking scene.Tyler shouted nervously, “Who are you?! Who let you in? Where are the security guards? Hey, come and kick them out!”Reuben also hurriedly yelped, “You’d better leave right now or we’ll call the police!”Charlie, who hadn’t spoken much, said indifferently, “Tyler, I asked them to come. Do you have a problem with that?”Horrified, Tyler blurted out, “M-Master Wade, you asked them to come? Why?!”Charlie replied emotionlessly, “They are here to support Jasmine. She has just returned to Moore Group
When Tyler and Reuben saw Hashimoto Kazumi, they were so frightened that their legs turned to jelly.At this moment, they realized that their schemes and plots had come to light, otherwise Charlie would not have brought Jasmine as well as Kazumi back to Oskia.After all, Jasmine’s fatal incident in Japan was entirely a private sordid affair between the three of them.Tyler and Reuben had wanted Jasmine dead so that they could inherit the entire Moore family. Kazumi, on the other hand, wanted to gain greater personal benefits by cooperating with them.A payoff of hundreds of millions of dollars and at least ten percent shares were enough for Kazumi to take the risk.Until Kazumi appeared, they had been using him as their firewall. To them, as long as Kazumi had not yet gotten into trouble, they were absolutely safe.However, never in their wildest dream did they expect that Charlie would move this human firewall from Japan to right in front of their noses!At this moment, Tyler a
Kazumi roared in anger, “You guys dragged me into this! How dare you kick me when I’m down?!”With that, he immediately took out his phone, searched for a voice recording, and announced in a cold voice, “Everyone, listen to this! Listen to how exactly this pair of shameless b*stards plotted to kill Miss Moore!”Then, he immediately clicked play.On the phone, Reuben’s voice sounded, “Hey, Mr. Hashimoto. Jasmine is planning to leave for Japan tomorrow. My father wants me to ask you if you have made all the arrangements on your side. This time, you must make sure she dies, okay!”Kazumi laughed and said, “Mr. Moore, please rest assured that I have already prepared everything in advance according to your instructions. When the time comes, it will be done unnoticed, and no one will suspect you.”Reuben replied, sounding satisfied, “That’s awesome! After Jasmine’s death, we will definitely make more concessions in our cooperation with your company, and all the personal benefits promise
Initially, Tyler and Reuben had already been scared out of their wits at this point, but when they heard that Charlie wanted to bring Lord Moore in, they trembled violently as if they had been struck by lightning.At this moment, they shared the same thought. ‘Hasn’t that old thing become demented?! He can’t even control his bowels! Why is Charlie bringing him over here at this time?’Tyler’s heart skipped a beat as he thought in despair, ‘C-Could it be that he has recovered?! I-If so, we’ll be finished!’As he thought of this, Oscar, the Moore family’s butler, walked into the hall, holding Lord Moore’s hand.Lord Moore looked very healthy and robust with a cold expression on his face. There was not even a trace of senile dementia on his physical appearance.Tyler and Reuben were utterly terrified, unable to comprehend the current situation. This morning in the hospital, Lord Moore had pissed his pants right in front of them! How had he reverted to his old self so soon?!As soo
Tyler kept brewing ideas in his mind, ‘If I can compensate the families of the three victims actively and get their understanding, the court will definitely lower our sentences at its discretion!’ ‘We’ll just pay them 20 to 30 million per family. Heck, make it 50 million per family! Let’s compensate them until they can hug the money to sleep while laughing! Then, they will definitely issue a letter of understanding and help us plead with the court!’Lord Moore also knew very well that it was not a feudal society now, after all. The family law from the feudal period was certainly not applicable in the lawful society now, so he could not kill Tyler and Reuben right in front of so many people.Besides, although he truly hated them, he couldn’t really do it even if the law did not care about their crime because they were still part of the Moore family.The population of the Moore family was already dwindling in the current generation. Even if he could bear the pressure to kill them, i
Elaine may have led a life as if she was above the rules, but beneath that tough exterior lay crippling insecurities and a horrific inferiority complex.She was always afraid of being belittled—but more than that, of being ostracized and betrayed.Over the years, the greatest source of her complexes could all be traced back to Matilda.After all, Matilda had been a star back in their school days. Because Elaine was a close friend of hers, many boys would get chummy with Elaine, but only because they were interested in Matilda.Being from a poor farmer's family, Elaine had been scorned plenty and therefore felt exceedingly inferior around Matilda.It was from that sense of inferiority that Elaine had inadvertently developed a one-sided rivalry against Matilda, and she believed her greatest triumph over Matilda in this life was the moment she had stolen Jacob from her.However, while Elaine presumed that she could hold that victory over Matilda's head, Lady Wilson had soured that v
Moreover, given Elaine's ridiculous temper, Jacob knew she would definitely go overboard and destroy him.He wouldn't even have a place to live at that point, and it would really be game over if she held a grudge and stormed the Calligraphy and Painting Association!Under such circumstances, he couldn't ask for a divorce—hell, he might even refuse a divorce if Elaine asked for one!However, that was when Elaine laughed coldly. "Oh, my… You're really not going to divorce me?""Come on—how long were we married?" Jacob quickly reasoned. "Getting divorced at our age? People would laugh at us."Elaine scoffed. "Now I'm curious… Matilda's quite old too, and she's a divorcee marrying again. Won't people laugh at her?""Technically, she's a widow—"Jacob blurted out, but soon turned pale, tensing up again not a second after he had just calmed down, asking gingerly, "W-Why would you suddenly mention her?'Elaine stopped pretending right then and snapped, "It's actually impressive that y
Horrified, Jacob promptly grasped the steering wheel and brought the Cullinan back under control while not hesitating to snap, "Are you crazy?! We're on the highway—that could have killed the both of us!"However, Elaine ignored him and seized the moment to open the armrest box, pulling out the large white envelope.As she opened it, she muttered, "So, it really was a wedding invitation… You really are a terrible friend, Jacob Wilson, hiding a wedding invitation like this! What's the point? Just look at that nervous face of yours—would I suspect you of having an affair with the bride-to-be?"She flipped open the card and was experienced enough to check the names first while disregarding the usual preamble. She wouldn't care about the venue or the time either, focusing solely on the professor who had somehow made Jacob very nervous.That was how Elaine found the names in less than a second: Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall.Matilda?!The name could well be knives stabbing Elaine in th
Jacob's brain blanked out, leaving only a dull hum as soon as Walker mentioned 'Professor Hall'.Already feeling nervous in the first place, he quickly said, "Okay, okay—I got it. Anyway, I'm hanging up if there's nothing else!"With that, he promptly pressed the button to hang up.Nonetheless, Elaine was soon asking in curiosity, "Who's Professor Hall?"If Jacob had any semblance of composure, he would have said 'a colleague at Senior University' as if it was perfectly natural, and the matter would have been forgotten.But the reality was that he didn't—in fact, he was the champion when it came to dropping the ball as a casual question from Elaine left him sweating all over his brow.Even as he slid nervous glances at her face, he stammered uncontrollably, "N-Nobody…"Elaine promptly noticed his strange reaction and frowned. "I'm talking about Professor Hall. What do you mean, nobody? Who are they? And what's this about an invitation? Inviting you for what?"Seeing that he was
Jacob had really had too much to drink and couldn't remember the later parts of what had happened last night—even how he had gotten home was a blur.Naturally, he also forgot that Walker had brought Matilda's wedding invitation, and therefore didn't hesitate to answer the in-car answer button.Over the phone, Walker was positively fawning as he asked, "Mr. Wilson? It's Walker. Why didn't you come in today? Had too much to drink last night?""Uh-huh," Jacob grunted, lethargic. "I did—my head still hurts now… Anyway, what's up? Trouble at the association?""No, of course not," Walker quickly said. "I was just worried you're still hungover, so I called to ask. If you need a driver or anything, you just need to ask!"Then, before Jacob could answer, he continued, "By the way, my wife is somewhat knowledgable in Oskian medicine, and she has recipes for brews that cure hangovers and nourish the liver. I'm sure you'll need the latter since you're always drinking at social events, so I as
Fortunately, Elaine and Jacob's bickering never escalated.Even though Elaine was winning, Jacob found it tolerable.After Jacob finished his lunch and cleaned up, he never looked up as he said, "Charlie sent a text, saying Claire's flight would touch down earlier at three. We will leave at two."Elaine grumbled. "Why leave so early? She's coming back from abroad, and there'd be checkpoints she has to clear—she'd be lucky if she could leave by half past three. I'm sleeping a few winks now, and we'll leave at half past two."As she left the dining room, she didn't even look back as she said, "Clean up for me too."Jacob had a million complaints but said nothing as he kept his head down, throwing Elaine's lunchbox in the trash can as well.With Elaine gone, he sat on the couch as her hangover slowly cleared while his mood soured with the lack of alcohol.In the end, the pleasure of being fawned over at the Diamond Room was but temporary—the pain of his beloved leaving with someone
Vera kept her plan to investigate the identity of the abbess deep in her mind and told Charlie nothing.Instead, she smiled as she said, "It seems that it's both yours and Ms. Ito's good fortune that she has attained enlightenment. You've never had anyone who could attain enlightenment and master Reiki at the same time, so Ms. Ito will definitely be a great help to you in the future."Charlie chuckled and said calmly, "I'm not hoping for her to help. I'm simply happy for her with her enlightenment and excited to have another comrade in my solo ventures into the dark forests."Vera nodded in understanding, and she murmured emotionally, "I've lived for so long, and it's only when I opened my heart to you that I felt that sensation you described."There was a flicker of wistfulness in her eyes.She really did not expect to attain enlightenment before meeting Charlie.Years ago, she thought that she would eventually avenge her father.Now, she no longer hoped to murder Fleur Griffi
Vera was inwardly disappointed to hear that Claire was returning.That meant there were fewer chances of Charlie visiting the Scarlet Pinnacle Manor, as were her chances of seeing him again.Still, she didn't let it show, instead asking casually, "How are things at Champs Elys? Are the warriors improving at a rate to your satisfaction?""Well, most of everyone's improvement is within expectations…" Charlie explained, just as he remembered a certain someone. "By the way, there's something I haven't told you yet. Are you perhaps acquainted with the name Ito Nanako?""Yes," Vera smiled. "The Japanese lady who was with you. What about her?""She attained enlightenment days ago.""Enlightenment?" Vera did a double take and soon pressed, "Enlightenment in what sense? Essential Qi or Reiki?"After all, the former was the path to enlightenment in martial arts, while the latter meant enlightenment in cultivation.But despite the distinction between both domains, enlightenment was a comm
While Charlie had long since gotten used to Elaine and Jacob's bizarre marriage, being near the heart of the storm still took a toll on his senses—to the point that he felt physically sick.Leaving right away was therefore his best solution.Once he left, however, he realized he didn't have anywhere to go. Champs Elys was quite far, and it would take a lot of time.As he started to feel bored stiff, he remembered Vera for some reason and called her.Once Vera answered, she quickly asked in curiosity, "To what do I owe the pleasure? Lunch, perhaps?"Charlie chuckled. "Since you've put it that way… I haven't eaten either, so lunch it is!"Vera giggled. "Come over to my place, then. It's cold outside, and I was just lighting up a hot pot. I'll have Madam Marilyn prepare an additional portion.""Okay!" Charlie agreed to it without hesitation. "I can return her car too. Just wait, I'll be right there!"Once he hung up, he got on the Rolls Roycs he had borrowed from Scarlet Pinnacl