Out of curiosity, Charlie asked, “Oh? Do explain yourself. I’d like to know why you claim you didn’t have a choice.” After a brief pause, Charlie added, “Wait a moment. Let me call the victim over.” Charlie turned to Porter and said, “Porter, bring her in.” “Understood, Mr. Wade.” Porter nodded respectfully before leaving. Soon, he returned with Claudia. By now, Claudia’s face was covered in tears. She had been listening to the entire thing from the very beginning. When she heard the recording of Gopher and Andre’s conversation, terrible fury overcame her. She wanted to stab Gopher with her bare hands and avenge her family right that instant. She balled her hands into fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. Glaring daggers at Gopher, she snarled in a tone that held no mercy, “Gopher! It was my parents who took you in and gave you a new life when you had nowhere to go! Why did you kill them?” Upon seeing Claudia, Gopher blurted out in panic, “Claudia…! I…I was
At Gopher’s threat, Charlie stared at him with an amused smirk. “Wow! You’re nearing your death, but you’re still trying to harm Stephanie? I’m astonished.” Gopher wasn’t confident in his chances, but he knew this was his only way of surviving. Thus, he put on a savage expression and sneered at Charlie, “I’ve instructed my men to capture her when you were gambling at the casino! If you kill me, Stephanie will never see the light of day!” Charlie frowned. “Why did you want to kidnap Stephanie? How is a girl like her of any use to you? Or were you able to predict my plans?” Gopher gritted his teeth and went on, “In certain aristocratic societies, a girl like Stephanie is the strongest hard currency! Hell, she has more value than gold or jewelry! With her exceptional looks and the fact that she’s clean and not at all promiscuous, she can fetch up to a million dollars among the rich!” Then, Gopher added viciously, “Most of the rich men who bid on girls in auctions have mental iss
The instant Gopher saw Stephanie, all of his hopes were crushed. At that moment, he knew full well that his fantasies were shattered, and that he would surely die! There was just one thing that he didn’t understand. How did Charlie find out that he would target Stephanie? Out of reflex, he asked Charlie, “So, you losing at the casino twice was just an act?!” Charlie snickered. “Of course. How could I forget the bait when I’m trying to fish?” Gopher was shocked. Then, he frowned and asked, “I don’t understand… You… You weren’t in Canada, so how did you know all this?! This is our organization’s internal secret. Only a handful of people in the organization know about it! And none of them know you, so they couldn’t possibly tell you!” Claudia scoffed. “Gopher, did you think I was oblivious to the things you were doing? You had someone mark Mrs. Lewis’s door. Of course I’d find out! I also knew what that mark meant. It was me who informed Mr. Wade, all for him to come to Canada
Gopher stared at Claudia in shock after hearing what she said. After a moment of hesitation, he dropped on his knees and choked out, “Claudia, I… I was confused. I beg you, give me a chance to change! I’m willing to do anything if you’ll spare my life! We’re relatives, after all! Blood runs thicker than water! Please spare me on account of that! Just this once!” Claudia’s face was icy. “Gopher, don’t you find it amusing to say something like that? You forsook the fact that we’re related by blood and killed my family. Yet now you dare beg me?! I’ve killed you in my dreams countless times every night in the past few months! I’ve been looking forward to the day my wish will come true, and now, I finally have the chance. I’d rather die with you than spare you!” Upon hearing that, Gopher knew that he was destined to die today. And so, he retracted his begging face and laughed. “Who would’ve known… You’re so young, but you’re already so cunning and cruel. Had I known this would happen, I
Ruthlessness was a merit on the premise that one wasn’t actively trying to hurt others. Many people allowed wicked villains to take advantage of them because they weren’t ruthless enough. However, eighteen-year-old Claudia was strong enough to not give her enemy any chances. Charlie said to Porter, “Porter, take this monster away. Tie the others up and bring them to the cargo hold. I want them to witness Gopher being burned to ashes.” Porter answered respectfully, “Understood, Mr. Wade. I’ll have it arranged at once.” Having said that, Porter commanded the Ten Thousand Armies soldiers to tie up the Italian organization members’ hands behind their backs with sturdy nylon cable ties. He then forced them to line up and walk to the cargo hold. A bulk carrier’s cargo hold was like a deep pit made of steel. Not only was it deeper than a ten-floor building, but the interior was also abnormally huge. Since the entire ship was basically empty, the place was quite spacious. About
He started wailing in fright. “Claudia, I’m begging you... Do it quickly! Just shoot me, please! You’ll be traumatized for the rest of your life if you choose to burn me today! You don’t want your conscience to be tortured every day, do you?!” Claudia shook her head and said firmly, “I want to move forward instead of living in hatred for the rest of my life. I’ll stop hating you once I watch you burn to ashes!” Having said that, she dug out the S. T. Dupont lighter that she had prepared for months from her pocket. Her late father had loved this type of lighter. It would make a crisp clicking sound when the cap was popped open. In the past, whenever she heard this sound, she knew that her father was smoking again, so she would nag at him for a bit. Upon her father’s passing, she had bought the same type of lighter. Whenever she missed her family, she would take out this lighter, listen to the familiar clicking sound, watch the light flicker, and reminisce the happy times she h
At that moment, Claudia seemed to be in a trance. The image of her parents and brothers smiling at her looked so realistic. Meanwhile, the raging fire of revenge was scorching her at such a close distance, and it even dried the tears that were streaming down her face. In the past, this monstrous hatred had forced her to move forward alone with heavy responsibility. Now, as her hatred disappeared along with this huge fire, she finally felt free for the first time in her life. However, compared to her, Stephanie was trembling in fright as she watched a person screaming while he was burned alive. She couldn’t help burying her face in Charlie’s arms and closing her eyes, refusing to watch. Nevertheless, Charlie patted her on the back and said gently, “Don’t be scared. This is what the world actually looks like.” Although Stephanie was an orphan, she had been taken in by the welfare institute at a very young age. Growing up, she not only had Mrs. Lewis’s care but also the prot
Charlie didn’t tell her the remainder of his thoughts. He would surely give them a chance, but instead of letting them go home to start a new life, they would have to follow the Ten Thousand Armies to the Middle East and change their ways there. Of course, his main purpose was to have them work hard. Whether or not they actually changed for the better wasn’t important to him. Subsequently, Claudia and Stephanie were escorted away from the cargo hold by a few female soldiers. The burnt Gopher remained erect in the middle of the warehouse with fumes still rising from his body. The warehouse that could hold about ten thousand tonnes worth of goods was now filled with a burnt smell. The Italian organization members, along with Andre, were all staring at Gopher’s corpse. Each of them looked horrified and afraid. Having them witness Gopher’s tragic death had deterred them a great deal. Andre even felt a heart attack approaching due to extreme fear that Charlie would do the same
"Exactly!"Charlie agreed, striking the metal while it was hot. "To be honest, the years Matilda spent in the States would be wasted if she was actually still interested!" "She's a Wall Street veteran who'd definitely have met so many successful men! Why would she be interested in a loser like Jacbo Wilson? It's not like she returned from the States after thirty years to help the poor, don't you agree?"Charlie then finished with a sigh. "The way I see it? You're the only one who'd be interested in him."Jacob heard that from behind the wall and was left absolutely fuming and humiliated.He was the only one who knew that Matilda had come back for him—even if she was worth millions now.However, he just didn't have the spine to divorce Elaine and get together with Matilda.He presumed that it was no rush and that he could just give Elaine the silent treatment—who knew, she might just give in and ask for a divorce herself, and then, he would have no issues getting together with M
"Her real lover?!" Elaine exclaimed in shock. "What are you talking about?"Charlie put on a serious face as she said, "Matilda came back to Oskia for her one true love, who is now her fiance. His name is Yolden Hart, a top economist who's now a lecturer at Aurous Hill University, who was invited all the way from the States. He's a professional manager and used to work in Wall Street, so he'd be qualified to be a CEO in any Fortune 500 company…""Professional manager?" Elaine pouted. "That still means he's a wage slave!"Charlie laughed. "Don't underestimate professional managers now. Just look at Apple Inc.'s CEO—the man earns around a hundred million USD per year, and that's over seven hundred million in Oskian dollars!"Elaine was left gaping, unable to imagine how a wage slave could earn so much.At the same time, Charlie continued, "To be fair, Professor Hart wouldn't earn that much, but 50 million per year is still no sweat for him. Do you get the amount of money we're talki
Elaine appeared taken aback, and she promptly demanded, "You've met Matilda too?!"It was only then that Claire realized she had let the cat out of the bag, and she suddenly didn't know what to say. "Oh… Uh… Mom… I, uh… didn't?"Nonetheless, Elaine was suddenly pressing her menacingly, "If you've never met her, how would you know she's a serious person?!"As Claire stayed silent, Elaine broke down in tears. "No… You're lying to me too! Aren't you?!"While Claire was left at a loss of how she should salvage this mess, Charlie suddenly entered and said, "Claire didn't—but I did.""What?!" Elaine was left staring at Charlie, stunned.Still, she soon demanded, "Y-You've met Matilda?! Did Jacob take you with him to see her?""Yes," Charlie admitted, nodding.Elaine snapped right then, and she bellowed, "Then why didn't you tell me?! To think that I've always done right by you, treating you like my own son, but you wouldn't tell me that Jacob is cheating on me! Y-You disappoint me!"
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