Xavion hurriedly asked, “Dad, what do you mean?”Spencer smacked his lips and said, “No wonder Homer took so much effort to please her and even organized a charity dinner for her...”As he spoke of that, what Merlin had just said suddenly appeared in his mind.He immediately realized something and exclaimed, “D*mn it! Homer, this b*stard! Was he planning to do something to Quinn?!”Xavion replied awkwardly with a smile, “Dad, any man would love a beautiful woman. Isn’t it normal for Homer to want to do something? Is there anything wrong with that?”Spencer coldly said, “What I’m saying is different from what you’re thinking! Maybe he was pleasing her with the intent to spend a night with her. However, he may also be plotting to r*pe her first and murder her before destroying the evidence and corpse later!”Xavion's face turned cold, and he said, “Dad... I do agree that Homer behaved strangely at that time, but there was no substantial evidence. Say... Homer can’t be such a fool,
Charlie was no longer in a rush to head to New York. After all, Ten Thousand Armies had caught Finley. According to his plan, he wanted Kazuo to cut off Finley’s ears. Then, he would lock him up with Homer. He wanted to let them spend a night in horror. After that, he would crush them when he arrived in New York.Quinn was a well-informed lady, and she was not affected by Homer’s incident at all.The day after Charlie made Kazuo kidnap Homer, she forgot about it entirely and focused on preparing for her next concert.Quinn had been busy preparing for her concert all day. To better coordinate with the team, her agency company had rented a dance studio in New York specifically for Quinn to rehearse and choreograph with the dancers.At night, Quinn finally returned to the hotel to rest. After she was done taking a shower and about to rest, her assistant Dorothy knocked on the door.Dorothy told Quinn, “Quinn, Xavion Fox from the Fox family has just called. He would like to invite y
Spencer waved his hand and asked in a menacing voice, “Didn’t she come to New York for a concert?”Spencer instructed, “Arrange for someone to buy the venue and tell her team that the entire venue will be undergoing an upgrade and construction. Her concert will be postponed indefinitely. We will compensate her according to her rental contract, and I’ll see what she will do when the time comes.”***Quinn woke up early the next morning. After she had washed up and prepared herself, she was ready to go to the dance studio to continue rehearsing.She had been a little worried since Charlie had not come to New York yesterday. Hence, she took the initiative to send Charlie a message, asking if he planned to come to New York today.Charlie had indeed planned to go over today. He needed to find a way to get Homer and Finley to speak as he wanted to make the two confess to all the heinous deeds they had commited. After that, he needed to find a way to secure the evidence.It would be eas
Dorothy’s eyes lit up as soon as Quinn mentioned Charlie.She agreed and blurted out, “That’s right! Go and get Charlie to help! If the Fox family dares to hurt you, tell Charlie to punch the sh*t out of him!”Dorothy’s words embarrassed Quinn, and she said awkwardly, “Can you be a little more ladylike?” Dorothy’s lips twitched. “I’m usually very ladylike until someone messes with us. When I’m angry, I don’t care about being ladylike anymore. If Charlie can kick Xavion to the ground, I’ll make sure to join in and kick him too!” Quinn shook her head helplessly. “I really can’t do anything about you.”Then, she looked at the time and said, “Let’s go to the dance studio to rehearse first.” Dorothy hurriedly asked, “Wait, what should we do about the Fox family? If this doesn’t work out, the show will be canceled...”“It’ll be fine.” Quinn waved her hand and said, “The Fox family’s goal is to meet me. They won’t seriously cancel the concert. They’ll contact you soon.” Quinn had
At nine o’clock in the morning, Charlie arrived at Long Beach, New York, by helicopter.He directly landed at the luxury villa that Porter had rented. Porter, Hanzo, and Kazuo came out to greet him as soon as he arrived.Hanzo became very nervous as he greeted Charlie in person. He hurriedly bowed with respect and introduced himself, “Master Wade... I’m Hanzo Hattori, the head of the Iga ninjas. I’m so sorry for my son’s rudeness to you in New York. Please forgive us!”Charlie nodded and spoke indifferently, “I’ll let this go because you came to help me out on Mount Wintry with Miss Ito. However, from now on, the Iga ninjas must obey my orders. I will find you a good home in the United States, and you will not return to Japan.”“Yes, yes, yes...” Hanzo nodded reverently. Ever since he had recorded the video in which he had admitted to committing a terrorist attack, he knew it would be impossible to go back to Japan. He did not know what else the Iga ninjas could do apart from wor
Finley had been afraid to share the same fate as his younger brother, which was why he had fled to New York and hidden in the Fox family.However, he did not expect this to be his fate. He could not escape the mastermind even if he hid in the Fox family! Homer’s kidnapper and Franco’s murderer had turned out to be the same man.Finley thought about his younger brother’s death and was terrified. He senselessly asked Charlie, “What grudges do you have with my younger brother and me?! Why are you doing this to us?!” Charlie sneered, “You’re so obtuse. Let me ask you. Do you know Stephanie Lewis? Are you aware of her connection to me?” Finley was frightened to hear Stephanie’s name. Even Homer, who was beside him, shuddered in horror.How could Finley not know Stephanie? His younger brother had died when he had gone to pick Stephanie up at sea. Moreover, Homer had previously indicated that he wanted Stephanie.Finley knew he was doomed after hearing that Stephanie was related to Ch
Finley cried and shouted, “I... I know I was wrong... Mr. Wade, please let this end now...”“You want it to end now?” Charlie scoffed, “Well, not unless you take out all the information you keep. Otherwise, I’ll keep you alive and let you experience this pain daily.”Then, Charlie turned to Kazuo and ordered, “Kazuo, pull out your belt and hit him as hard as you can!”Kazuo dared not defy Charlie’s order, so he pulled his belt off immediately and rushed toward Finley. Then, he swung the belt at Finley like crazy. Finley was only wearing one pair of shorts and nothing else. Kazuo had soon beat him up horribly, bruising him.Every time Kazuo hit him, it was as if someone had cut his skin and flesh repeatedly. A great pain swept through his whole body like an explosion as the pain became more excruciating.Kazuo had only hit him a few times, but Finley was in so much pain that he felt as though he was about to die. He was starting to lose consciousness, but the pain had not weaken
Charlie’s words frightened Finley and Homer.The two were crying and begging for mercy in unison, but Charlie turned a deaf ear to their pleas.Finley collapsed in fright, and by this time, his pain perception had already magnified a hundredfold. He could only imagine how much pain he would be in if they arranged such a special session for them.He quickly shouted, “Why are you doing this to us! Even if we broke the law, let the law judge us! According to the law of the United States, we’d be imprisoned for life, at most! Why are you being so inhumane?!”“Inhumane?” Charlie curiously asked, “What? When you tortured those innocent girls, why didn’t you talk about your inhumanity to them? Now that it’s your turn to suffer, you’re talking to me about humaneness? What? Do you yourself possess any humaneness?”Finley cried, “I wasn't the one who killed those girls! I was only responsible for the arrangement. It was Homer and the rest who murdered them! There are at least dozens of perv
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