When Charlie saw this text message, his heart instantly tensed up, and his first reaction was to call this number back immediately.However, what he did not expect was that the other party would have already turned off the cell phone as soon as he had just received the text message from the other party. Charlie became nervous, and he hurriedly sent a video call request to Stephanie.The video call was quickly connected, and Stephanie, who was on the other end of the call, was standing behind the cashier’s desk with a smile on her face as she asked, “Brother Charlie, why are you video calling me at this time?”When Charlie saw that Stephanie was fine, he became relieved, and he said, “Stephanie, I just received a text message saying that you were in trouble and the other party asked me to go to Vancouver immediately. What’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?” “Huh?” Stephanie had a surprised look on her face as she said, “I am not in any kind of trouble... I’m just watchi
After saying that, Charlie asked, “Mrs. Lewis, where did you come back from?”Mrs. Lewis laughed and said, “I just came back from the daycare class. I have nothing else to do, so I often go to help the young people in Oskiatown take care of their children.”Charlie nodded and said, “I heard Stephanie mentioning it the last time we spoke. How is your life over there?”“Good! It’s pretty good!” Mrs. Lewis smiled and said, “Our usual activity area is in Oskiatown, and the place where we live is also an Oskian community. Aside from the different climate and environment, it actually feels similar to us being in Oskia.”At this time, Claire walked out of the inner room and asked curiously, “Honey, who are you video calling?”Charlie hurriedly waved at her and said, “Claire, come over and say hello to Mrs. Lewis!”When Claire heard that Charlie was on a video call with Mrs. Lewis, she hurriedly ran over and came up to Charlie. She then waved happily at the video and said, “Mrs. Lewis! S
Even after Charlie and Claire had returned to their room after having dinner with Kelly, the mysterious person who had sent the text message still had not replied to Charlie.Charlie had also tried to secretly call the other party, but the other party was still in a shutdown state. Charlie still felt a little uneasy, so he sent another text message to the phone number, and the text message read: [If you are Stephanie’s friend and you are just giving me a warning out of goodwill, please give me more specific information. Thank you.]After he had sent the text message, it was still like a stone that had sunk into the sea.Claire was somewhat tired because she had been traveling for the whole day and so, she could not bear the sleepiness and went to bed after taking a bath.After Charlie had taken a shower, he wrapped himself in a bathrobe and walked to the terrace of the presidential suite on the top floor of the building. He had mixed feelings as he looked at the lights outside.
“Okay, Old Master Lennard. Thank you for your hard work.”After hanging up Chandler’s call, Charlie could not help but ponder in his heart, “Eldest Uncle came to buy a Rejuvenating Pill, and it seems as though it should be for Grandpa. Combined with Old Master Lennard’s hexagram, it should be that there is some kind of condition with Grandpa’s body.”As he thought of this, a thought also flashed through Charlie’s mind. Shouldn’t he confirm his maternal grandfather’s situation and lend him a helping hand if the situation was critical?However, when Charlie thought back to the doubts that he had when he was thinking about his parents just now, he felt a little indignant.The Acker family was so strong, so why didn’t they ever look into finding out the truth behind his parents’ death even twenty years after their death?In addition, Charlie still remembered that his maternal grandfather had never had anything good to say to his mother when he followed his mother back to the United St
When Charlie saw this text message, he knitted his brows tightly and called the other party immediately. However, a notification prompt quickly sounded, telling him that the other party had already turned off his cell phone!This caused Charlie to feel a kind of anger where he was being toyed with.So, he stood up immediately and said to Claire, “Honey, I’m going out to make a phone call.”Claire realized that something was wrong from the expression on Charlie’s face, and she wanted to ask him the reason. However, she was afraid of delaying Charlie’s business and so, she nodded and said softly, “Go quickly.”Charlie took his cell phone out of the restaurant, and he called Porter directly at a location where there was no one else around.As soon as the phone call was connected, he said to Porter immediately, “Porter, I need you to check a phone number for me. Find out exactly who is using this number and where this person is. The location should be as accurate as possible!”Port
If Porter were to send people from the Middle East to Vancouver, Canada, the flight distance alone would already be over ten thousand kilometers. He did not have a Concorde, and it would take them more than ten hours to get there at the earliest.In that case, if something were to happen to Stephanie within these ten hours, no one would be able to help her at all.So, the person who was closest to Stephanie at this time was Charlie himself.After all, if he were to fly from here, he could get to Vancouver in four hours, and he could also get there in three hours if he could rent a Gulfstream G650.Therefore, Charlie immediately decided to go to Vancouver personally! He was also worried if the person who had sent the text message was simply using this as a diversion to lure him away. In that case, his wife, Claire, would definitely be in danger if she was left alone in the United States. However, once Charlie thought of how the person who had sent the text message was by Steph
Claire saw that Charlie’s mind was already made up and so, she knew that it would be useless to persuade him. So, he said good-naturedly, “Okay, then you can take care of everything yourself!”Charlie nodded, got up, and said, “Honey, let’s pack the food to go, and you can go back to the hotel to eat first.”Claire hurriedly said, “You don’t have to worry about me. You can head to the airport directly! I’ll take a taxi back myself!”“No way!” Charlie shook his head and said, “I’m not comfortable with you going back by yourself. I’ll send you back to the hotel room, and you should not go out again either after you get back.”Claire had no choice but to nod when she saw Charlie insisting on doing so.Charlie then asked the waiter to pack the untouched food, and he drove the rented Audi A6 Touring Edition and sent Claire back to the hotel.Charlie was cautious when he sent Claire back to her room, and he instructed her, “Honey, lock the room door when you’re by yourself and don’t go
The appearances of the door on both sides of the streets of Oskiatown as well as the various signboards hanging high on both sides of the buildings were almost all written in Oskian dialect.Moreover, almost all the appearances of the people on both sides of the streets were Oskians. There were very few foreign faces here, which made people feel as if they were on the streets of Oskia. Vancouver’s Oskiatown was one of the world’s most famous Oskiatown, and it was also one of the largest Oskiatowns.In this city, the Oskians made up 21% of the entire population, which meant that one out of every five people in Vancouver was Oskian. Oskiatown was a place where the Oskian were highly concentrated, so it was normal not to see any foreigners here.The Hasting Street that Charlie was headed toward was the most prosperous and busy area of Oskiatown. When the taxi arrived on this street, the crowd was even more lively and bustling.Due to the direction of travel, the driver parked the
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