Charlie originally wanted to help as well, but Mrs. Lewis drove him out of the kitchen with the excuse that he was a guest from afar. She couldn’t possibly make the guest work in the kitchen.Facing her resolute rejection, Charlie didn’t insist any further. Stephanie took the opportunity to show Charlie around the villa. At eight o’clock, Mrs. Lewis finished preparing a sumptuous meal with Claudia’s aid.Stephanie took out a bottle of juice from the refrigerator. She said to Charlie with a cheery grin, “Brother Charlie, no one drinks liquor here. We take juice instead!”Charlie nodded. He didn’t mind. He followed her lead, took the juice bottle from her, and poured it into four cups. Mrs. Lewis was in a particularly good mood. She picked up her glass and smiled as she cheered, “Come! Let’s drink together and welcome Charlie to Canada!”Stephanie applauded immediately. Smiling as well, she added, “Welcome, Brother Charlie! I hope you’ll visit us in Vancouver more often in futu
The pleasant dinner soon came to an end. Claudia and Stephanie helped Mrs. Lewis to clean up the table and do the dishes. Suddenly, Claudia’s cell phone rang. It was Gopher.As Claudia answered the call, Gopher’s voice came from the other end. “Claudia, I’m already in front of Stephanie’s house. Tell Mr. Wade to come out.”Claudia said, “Wait a moment. I’ll talk to him.”With that said Claudia hung up and whispered to Charlie, “Mr. Wade… No, Brother Charlie. Gopher’s already at the door.”Charlie nodded. He went to Stephanie and said, “Stephanie, why don’t you accompany me out for a walk if you have nothing to do?”Stephanie knew at once that Charlie was going to Gopher’s casino. She agreed without hesitation and said, “Sure, Brother Charlie. Wait for me.”After that, she said to Mrs. Lewis, “Mrs. Lewis, I’m taking Brother Charlie out for a walk. You don’t have to clean up the dishes. Just ask Claudia to put them in the dishwasher later.”Mrs. Lewis laughed. “That’s alright. I d
Gopher was surprised. “Are they coming as well?” Charlie replied casually, “I’m bringing the both of them for some fun. Why, can’t I do that?”Gopher originally planned to kidnap Stephanie tonight, and had already arranged the manpower to carry out that plan. Not wanting to delay it, he feigned concern and said worriedly, “A casino isn’t suitable for young ladies. It’s not a good idea to bring them there. What do you think?”Charlie frowned. He didn’t bother to consider Gopher’s suggestion and quickly turned to Claudia. “Claudia, do you know of any other casinos? Let’s go there instead.”Gopher immediately panicked. If Charlie didn’t come to his casino, the most he would lose was his commission for the night. But if Charlie took Stephanie and Claudia with him to another casino, he would lose not only his commission, but also his chance to kidnap Stephanie. The casino was a place where people would go in and play until dawn. Charlie was a rich customer with hundreds of thousa
When Charlie, Stephanie, and Claudia followed Gopher, they realized that there was another hidden room downstairs. A large hall hosting about one hundred and fifty to sixty square meters entered their vision, filled with all types of gambling tables.A dealer stood at every gambling table. Yet, some tables had less customers than the others.It only took Charlie one glance to know that business was terrible. Half of the gambling tables had no customers. Some tables had only one player, and other tables had at most three to five players. Suffice to say, it made for a rather dull mood. Charlie frowned and grumbled in a disappointed tone, “Your establishment has very few customers. Why is that?”His question embarrassed Gopher, who was unsure how to reply.Business was getting worse and worse recently, with fewer customers frequenting the establishment. However, he couldn’t possibly reveal this to Charlie. He plastered a cheery grin and said offhandedly, “We came early. Many of
Very soon, Gopher diligently brought a tray of colorful chips to Charlie.The value of the chips started from one hundred Canadian dollars, and it went up to five hundred and one thousand dollars. He handed the chips over to Charlie with an oily smile. “Here, your chips!” Charlie nodded and waved his hand without a care, saying indifferently, “You hold it.”“I…” Gopher was stunned. Once again, anger boiled in him. Charlie took five one-thousand-dollar chips and stuffed them into Gopher’s pocket, saying casually, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you work in vain.”Gopher’s anger vanished as a stunned expression colored his face. He immediately assumed Charlie to be an avid gambler who had been around casinos all year round. In fact, Charlie was so generous that he was already giving Gopher a tip of five thousand Canadian dollars! Gopher hurriedly put on a flattering grin and said, “Oh! Thank you so much, Mr. Wade!”He started treating Charlie with utmost politeness, to the point of
Charlie won again in the second round.After winning two hands in a row, his mood seemed to have skyrocketed. He threw a large handful of one-hundred-dollar chips to Gopher and said, “Change them all into a thousand. A hundred is much too little.”Gopher nodded eagerly and handed the order to a passing waiter.Charlie casually counted his chips before throwing in ten thousand dollars with a small smile. “I want to beat the dealer three times in a row tonight!”Seeing that Charlie was full of confidence and wanted to take advantage of the situation, Gopher immediately winked at the dealer.This round, neither Charlie nor the dealer had a big hand. The dealer was only one point larger than Charlie. So, the dealer won Charlie’s chips and paid out to the other two players. However, the other players’ bets were miniscule in amount. One was a hundred, and the other was two hundred. Thus, the dealer took back all of his previous losses and even made a profit.Unbeknownst to the deal
Gopher was over the moon. He took the money and made a beeline for the counter, all too happy to exchange them for chips. This time, he didn’t get chips of a hundred for Charlie. The smallest value of the chips started from a thousand, and then to two thousand, five thousand and ten thousand.When Gopher returned with the chips, he placed them respectfully in front of Charlie and said politely, “Mr. Wade, your chips. You can count them.”“No need.” Charlie didn’t even bother to look at them. He took out a chip worth ten thousand Canadian dollars and threw it at Gopher with an indifferent drawl, “This is for you.”“Oh! Thank you, Mr. Wade. You’re so generous!”Gopher was flattered. Gratitude filled his heart as he kept thanking Charlie, joy spreading throughout all of his body. Charlie ignored him, took another ten-thousand-dollar chip, and placed it on the table as he knocked on the table top. He turned to the dealer and said, “Come on. Deal the cards.”The dealer nodded befo
Charlie then instructed Gopher, “Send us back.”Gopher was now a diligent lackey. He said eagerly, “This way please, Mr. Wade!”After leaving the casino, Gopher drove the three back to Mrs. Lewis’ house.They had only gone out for two hours, mainly because Charlie had lost all his money so quickly.Before getting out of the car, Gopher said to Charlie respectfully, “Have a good rest tonight, Mr. Wade. I’ll come and pick you up again tomorrow night!”After saying that, he hurriedly added, “By the way, Mr. Wade. Will it be convenient for you to leave me your contact information? I’ll contact you in advance tomorrow night.”“No need,” Charlie said casually. “You can just call Claudia at that time.”Gopher nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll call Claudia tomorrow.”Charlie let out a small hum as he pushed the car door open. He got out and entered the villa together with the company of the two girls. Gopher watched as Charlie’s back disappeared. A smug grin danced on his lips and he let ou
Jacob certainly left Charlie speechless—the man might get kicked out of the house, but he was more worried about his car.Sighing in exasperation, he told Jacob, "Look, if it fails, I won't be able to get you a nice place, let alone leave the Cullinan with you."Jacob blurted out, "But why—""Don't forget—I'm still living in this house even if you're gone!" Charlie explained, his expression dead serious. "If I let you have a nice place and the Cullinan, God knows how terrible a grudge your wife would hold against me. I need to have a sense of self-preservation too!""If I got you a rundown apartment, I could at least defend myself even if she gets upset about that. I mean, I can't let you sleep in the streets, can I? Claire and I would be guilty of abandoning our elders."Seeing the serious look on Charlie's face, Jacob breathed a long sigh as he clapped him on the shoulder, groaning mournfully, "Oh, I get it. I wouldn't want to upset Elaine if I were in your shoes too…"Charlie
Charlie sighed. "I told you it'd blow up, Dad, but you had to doubt me.""I wasn't doubting you," Jacob promptly defended himself. "I thought I might catch a lucky break—"Charlie cut him short, "Fair enough. Then, how are you going to handle this? I can try to stop Mom from going to that wedding and prevent her from getting in the hall even if she went, but what's going to happen to the both of you? Do you want a divorce or do you want to stay with her?"The light in Jacob's faded as he shrugged and sighed. "If I could divorce her, I would've—and I would be living happily with Matilda now. What company would I have if I did it now? Do you think Elaine would let me stay in Thompson First, with that attitude of hers?""In the end, I'd be chased out without a place to stay, and I can't suffer the humiliation of moving back with my mom and brother, can I? Hell, they might not even take me back!""So, that's a no?" Charlie pressed.Jacob smiled wryly. "At my age, even if I could, I w
Hearing that Elaine was threatening suicide, Claire exclaimed urgently, "Take me to her now!"The traffic police officer quickly nodded. "Come on!"As the traffic police officer quickly led Claire to Elaine, Charlie arrived just then and gave chase after leaving the luggage by the entrance.Stopping them, he asked, "Excuse me, officer—where's the gentleman who came with Madam Parker? May I see him?""And who are you?" The traffic police officer asked."I'm his son-in-law," Charlier replied. "I was thinking that while my wife talks to her mom, I can talk to my father-in-law, make peace, and take them both home.""Oh, that'd be great!"The traffic police officer exclaimed and quickly beckoned at a colleague, "Come over. Take this gentleman to Jacob Wilson!""Okay!" The other traffic police officer was also quite enthusiastic.Charlie entered the room where Jacob was first, immediately seeing a disfigured Jacob taking deep puffs of his cigarette.Another traffic police officer w
Charlie frowned in thought for a while, before saying, "Well, there is a plan, but I can't vouch for the chances. I also need you to cooperate with me and not let anything slip, or everything will go to waste. Can you do that?""I can!" Claire nodded, determined, before quickly asking, "So? What's the plan?""Well, it's not specific," Charlie replied. "We just have to improvise as we go along. Let's just head in for now!"-They left the airport and took a cab to the traffic police's headquarters. Just as she entered, they saw their Cullinan parked outside.Charlie sent Claire in first while he carried her luggage before following.Meanwhile, Elaine was wailing in her room, "I've been married to him for years! Suffering so much pain and humiliation, only for him to hook up with an old flame behind my back! Is it wrong if I struck out?"The traffic police officer was on the verge of a breakdown, but he still said patiently, "Ma'am, I've told you many times—what he did was wrong
Claire wasn't all that experienced in love and hence didn't know how a person caught in a love triangle would think or why they would experience such terrible mood swings.Still, Charlie's explanation gave her a general idea, and she sighed, "Actually, Dad looked really bad when Matilda came back. He was so obsessed with her that he didn't care if Mom was alive—even bringing her home for dinner. I'd be seething if I was Mom."Charlie sighed in exasperation. "Well, let's not loiter about. Let's go to the traffic police station.""Yeah!" Claire nodded, before holding his arm, "If they're there, that means they're safe, and they won't be fighting with those officers around. So, let's not head over so quickly."Charlie raised a brow. "What are you getting at?"Claire sighed, clearly troubled. "We have to think—how are we going to alleviate this crisis? If it's really as you say and Mom has mostly guessed it right, this fight might just be the start. At best, that fight on the highway
The traffic police officer smiled in exasperation. "Is there no getting through to you? You could even afford to drive a nice car, and you'd most likely survive an accident. But what if you were left bedridden for a long time? Yell at each other in the same hospital room?"Elaine waved him off. "I don't care—all I know is that I will always get my revenge, and on the spot if possible. If there were superheroes, I would be Wonder Woman!""Urgh…" The traffic police officer was utterly speechless. "How about this? We will call your daughter and have her come over to bail you. She will mediate your fight!"With those words, he returned Elaine's phone to her, and it happened to ring just then.It was a call from Claire.Seeing that the contact name said [Daughter], the traffic police officer quickly said, "Go on, answer it!"Elaine took it and answered the call, and Claire asked urgently before she could say a word, "Mom? Where are you? Where's Dad? Are you both alright?"Elaine sulk
While Charlie was waiting for Claire at the airport, Jacob and Elaine were taken to the traffic police station.But even in the patrol car, Elaine did not stop lashing out at Jacob.As such, the traffic police had no choice but to call up another patrol car to bring them over separately.Charlie was hence left wondering what those two were up to this time as they were nowhere to be seen when Claire's flight was about to land and weren't answering his texts.Fortunately, Charlie never considered them reliable, so he was fine whether they showed up or not.If they did, they could all head home in the same car.If they didn't, he just had to take a cab home with Claire.It was past three when Claire's private jet landed, and Claire herself cleared the checkpoint in just half an hour, wheeling a trolley with her luggage.Seeing Charlie from afar, she couldn't help quickening her pace as she beamed.Charlie hurried toward her as well, and Claire shoved her trolley aside when they w
However, to Jacob's shock, Elaine wasn't misled at all as she growled icily, "Why would I ask anyone else?! If there's someone I must question, it's Matilda! She's getting married, isn't she? Good! I will be there and ask her why she hooked up with my husband!"Jacob turned pale right then.Matilda's son and even some of their old classmates would be attending her wedding.If Elaine went, he would be exposed, and he wouldn't be able to stay in Aurous Hill out of shame!His nerves gnawing at him, Jacob could only plead, "Please, just trust me this once! Anything else aside, she's getting married, anyway—there's no way that I'd have anything to do with her! That alone should prove my innocence!"Elaine snorted. "If Matilda returned when I was arrested, it means she has been back for a while! And you're saying nothing happened since? Hell, even if she's married, it doesn't prove that she wasn't up to some hanky-panky with you! Maybe while I was arrested and refused a divorce when you
The driver was left dumbstruck—this wasn't how it was supposed to go.Still, he blurted, "C-Crashing into a Cullinan? I might end up dead instead…""Fine! Then let's change cars, and you crash into ours—how about that?!" Elaine promptly retorted before continuing, "Or we could just stand right in front of your car while you run into us! I just happen to have a death wish, but if you don't kill me now, I'll kill you! Don't think about getting away either—I know your car plate! I'll sell this car and use the money to put a bounty on your head! I don't care what happens to me now! I'll claw my nails into the devil's face even if he shows up!"The driver was actually quite experienced, but even he had yet to meet someone as ridiculous as Elaine.Barely able to keep his hands steady, he threw them up as he apologized, "I'm so sorry, ma'am—I just lost my cool. I'm merely a humble driver of a Honda Civic while you own a Rolls. Hell, I spent fifty bucks buying that red emblem from Amazon,