Homer was already twenty-six or twenty-seven this year, a marriageable age. Quinn was also in her twenties. She would be a good match for Homer. If both of them fell in love with each other through the charity dinner and fostered a good relationship, wouldn’t that make Nathaniel the one responsible for bringing them together?From a traditional Oskian concept, someone who united a couple in marriage deserved great credit. The Fox and the Golding family would owe him a large favor!Thinking of this, Nathaniel said without hesitation, “Don’t worry, Young Master Fox. I’ll help you pass the message.”Upon Nathaniel’s enthusiastic agreement, Homer was certain: his bait had been successful! Delighted, he smiled and said, “Thank you so much, Chairman Luke.”…An hour later, in Eastcliff. It was already past eleven o’clock at night, but Quinn was still practicing the newly choreographed dance for the concert with her choreography team in the rehearsal room.Every time before the concer
Quinn’s curiosity was roused by Dorothy’s question. “Why? Is there anything special about this charity fund?”“Of course there is!” Dorothy smiled. “This fund is dedicated to help the North American Oskian orphans to solve their daily needs. It also intends to support their education until they enter society and generate a stable income.”The expression on Quinn’s face changed a little at this. She nodded repeatedly and began muttering seriously, “So, it’s specifically to help orphans… That’s really meaningful… Okay, check if the time’s convenient for me that night. If it is, I’ll attend the dinner.”Dorothy curled her lips into a small grin and deliberately teased Quinn, “Look at you! Just because your Brother Charlie was an orphan, the act of rescuing and helping orphans is infinitely elevated in your eyes. If that’s the case, is a charity fund for widows or the elderly a lesser one in your eyes?”Quinn blushed. Embarrassed, she retorted, “That’s not what I meant! Don’t talk nons
Dorothy sat up straight, her demeanor exuding severity. “The idle work I’m talking about is just like one who stands on top of Mount Everest. If you stand at the foot of the mountain and shout at this person at the top of your voice, he wouldn’t be able to hear what you’re saying. You can keep shouting until your voice is gone, but he still won’t hear it.” “Let’s apply the same situation in your case. Charlie Wade hasn’t made up his mind to marry you, but you’re already doing idle work. Three years later, his thoughts will probably be exactly the same as they are now! What are you going to do if he still hasn’t made up his mind to marry you? Wait for him for another three years, and continue doing another three years of idle work?”At this, Quinn’s face instantly turned pale, as white as paper.She understood the meaning behind Dorothy’s words.She also realized Dorothy was right.Thinking of this, she humbly asked Dorothy for advice, “Dorothy, oh dear Dorothy! Please teach me!
Inspired by Dorothy’s speech, Quinn trotted back to her private lounge alone with her cell phone.There, she immediately called Charlie.At that moment, Charlie was lying on the recliner sofa in the hotel. He was bored out of his mind.Claire had gone to class, so he was left alone in the hotel with nothing to do. He was dying from the sheer boredom. Porter’s subordinates had arrived in New York one after the other, but they still couldn’t find any clues related to Finley. He seemed to have disappeared without a trace, not even leaving his scent behind.Upon realizing that Quinn was calling him, he pressed the answer button immediately to answer the call.Quinn's sweet voice reached his ears. “Brother Charlie, are you busy?”“No…” Charlie stretched his back and laughed. “I'm just being lazy. What's up? Is there something wrong?”Quinn said in a somewhat coquettish tone, “It’s like this, Brother Charlie… I’ll be going to the United States soon, and the New York Oskian Chamber
After all, there was a large difference in strength between the two sides.Trying to find someone who was an acquaintance of the Acker family in the Oskian Chamber of Commerce was even more difficult than picking out Lionel Messi from the national football team.After that, Charlie’s worries were no more.However, he was unable to push away the lingering unease within him, partly because he and his men had yet to find Finley.As such, he ordered Porter to send some men to secretly protect Quinn's safety after she arrived in New York....Meanwhile… After Quinn confirmed that Charlie was willing to accompany her to the charity dinner, she relayed her reply to Nathaniel.Nathaniel was thrilled beyond words to have received a positive reply. He was quick to inform Homer of the good news as well.Homer was naturally ecstatic.He didn’t expect Finley’s bait would be so effective! To think he was able to lure Quinn Golding, the number one female singer in Oskia, into his trap so e
The Ten Thousand Armies deployed over a thousand soldiers to New York for several days in a row, but they still failed to track down Finley's whereabouts.Porter was very ashamed about this, and he called Charlie almost every day to apologize.Charlie didn’t blame him. He knew that in looking for clues, a complete chain was necessary. If a link was missing, it would be impossible to restore the chain. Without a proper trail, nothing could be found. Forget the Ten Thousand Armies, even the United States' National Security Agency would fail. Finley couldn’t be found at all since his arrival at the New York JFK Airport, and the Ten Thousand Armies was temporarily unable to fill in this small hole in their search. Naturally, it was impossible for them to find Finley's whereabouts.Porter soon thought of a way to break out of their predicament. He planned to investigate all the vehicles and helicopters that entered and left the airport within a few hours after Finley's arrival in New Y
After pausing for a moment, Finley continued, “Once their customer enters an indoor environment, they would conduct a security check of the surroundings to sniff out any bugging or filming equipment inside, and to determine if there are any security risks. If they confirm the room to be safe, they will only focus on the entrance and the exit of the room, which is generally the door and the windows.”“In guarding indoors, they’d generally arrange for guards at all of the windows and the doors. The only exception is the bedroom window. If it’s a room on the first floor by the window, they’ll arrange for manpower outside the window. It’s quite complex, you see. If someone attacks from the outside, the bodyguards inside will react first. Their colleagues inside will also be informed about the attack immediately.”“If we attack from the window on the first floor, we’ll have to deal with the bodyguards outside first. If we go to the upper floors, we’ll have to deal with the bodyguards insi
Finley’s perfect plans sent Homer into a world of excitement. It sounded flawless, as if everything had been well thought out.After the accident, The Palace Hotel belonging to Homer's family won’t have to bear too much of the blame. Everything happened because of the mole, after all. As the saying goes, it was difficult to prevent a thief in one's own home. Fisher would take the fall. Thinking of this, Homer asked, "What about Fisher Charles's family?"Finley curled his lips, his face sinister. "There’s no other way. We have to kill them all. I’ll get the ninjas to kidnap Fisher’s family and pass them to my subordinate. After the incident, I’ll have the ninjas leave the United States and order my subordinates to kill Fisher’s family. When the police find the corpses, they’ll definitely think that it was the ninjas’ doing. They’d believe the story I made up even more!"Homer was rather startled. It took him a long while before he spoke. His voice was slow as he said, “You’re…goi
Bitterness swelled in Elaine's heart as she really didn't think that Matilda was doing so well for herself.The fact that Matilda was worth millions alone made her far superior.At the same time, she was also rejoicing that she had never actually met Matilda. If Matilda asked how she was doing directly, how would she respond?In the end, Matilda was no Hannah Queen.Elaine would actually feel accomplished if she compared herself to Hannah.On the other hand, Matilda eclipsed Elaine in every way—she was more beautiful, kind, smart, and knowledgeable. Even her figure left Elaine dead in the water!It was as pointless as comparing a hen to a peacock!Whenever she thought of her, she could comfort herself that she had stolen her man even if she couldn't measure up in any way.But now, Jacob was completely insignificant to Matilda while Elaine still treated Jacob like a trophy.Even as a sense of inferiority seized her, Charlie sighed. "Come on, you should understand where Jacob is
"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