“This…” Christian stammered. “Mom… Things haven’t reached that point yet, so you shouldn’t be thinking about them.”The old lady shook her head, wiped away her tears, and said expressionlessly, “We’ve already tried all the methods that could be used, and we also tried the methods that normally can’t be used. I even invited Master Howton, who your father has always been disgusted with, to come over. I really don’t know what else to do…”Christian knew his father didn’t believe in religion in his life, let alone metaphysics. Regardless of whether it was Master Howton from Golden Taoism, or Old Master Lennard from the Book of Changes and the Eight Diagrams, they were all no different from charlatans to Keith.His mother would never invite Master Howton to their house if it wasn’t a last resort. Christian, who had been comforting his younger siblings and mother, felt even more desperate.He feared his father really wouldn’t be able to survive this time.…At the same time…In mid-
This staff member of the Acker family did not know who Charlie was, but he froze when he heard Ashley’s name, as if he had been hit by lightning.As soon as he heard Quinn saying that Charlie was Ashley’s son, he was instantly appalled.He immediately thought of how the main family had been searching everywhere for the whereabouts of the son that Ashley had left behind for so many years, yet failed to find a single clue at all.Could this be an important clue delivered to his doorstep?!As he thought of this, he approved the plane’s request to land immediately. At the same time, he also picked up the phone to report to his superiors.The words, ‘Ashley Acker’s son’ were like a shocking thunderbolt which caused the Acker family’s butler to rush into the medical center.At this time, Christian was still trying his best to comfort his mother as he forced himself to endure the pain.For the old lady, her eldest son was at this moment her spiritual support.The butler hurriedly ran
In fact, he was eager to go out with everyone to see if it was Charlie who returned or not.Although all of the siblings in the Acker family had deep affection for Ashley, Kaeden had the closest and deepest relationship with Ashley among his siblings.Even though he had always been resolute and extremely strong, this strength was something he gained after Ashley’s death.When Ashely was still alive, he was her most devout follower and was always around Ashley. It was only after Ashley’s death that he began to subconsciously imitate his sister’s behavior and gradually accomplish his current achievements. Deep in his heart, he always felt that he wasn’t as good as his sister’s.Meanwhile…A plane gradually approached from the sky and landed at the end of the runway. The Acker family felt more and more nervous.Lady Acker couldn’t help but ask the children around her, “Do you think…that Charlie will be on the plane?!”Everyone dared not answer. After all, Charlie had been mis
“I…”When Quinn heard Lady Acker’s question, she pursed her lips, feeling extremely embarrassed.However, she recalled what Charlie had instructed her. She could only bite the bullet and lie, “Sorry, Grandma… I haven’t been able to find Brother Charlie… Yet.”As Quinn said this, she saw clearly the glimmer in the old lady’s eyes dimming instantly.She suddenly felt that it was too cruel for her to say this to this old lady with such a kind face. Christian, standing nearby, sighed and asked her, “Miss Golding, have you been looking for Charlie as well?”“Yes…” Quinn said seriously. “My father’s been looking for Brother Charlie for almost twenty years. He’s searched almost everywhere in the world.”Lady Acker said softly with a grateful expression, “The Golding family is affectionate and righteous. You guys haven’t forgotten about Charlie, even after so many years! Thank you… I thought we were the only ones who were still looking for Charlie’s whereabouts. I didn’t expect you peo
Kaeden quickly said, “Good, good. You haven’t had dinner yet after coming all the way here, right? Let your aunt arrange for you to have something to eat first.”Quinn rejected her, saying, “No need, Uncle Kaeden. I already ate on the plane on the way here.”Quinn asked again, “Can I go in and see Grandpa?”Lady Acker said, “Come, Quinn. I’ll take you in.”She was about to take Quinn’s hand to lead her to the ICU.Unexpectedly, at this moment, a doctor suddenly exclaimed, “The patient’s blood pressure and heart rate are dropping too fast! Quickly prepare the defibrillator!”Everyone was immediately startled by this shout. They quickly gathered around the hospital bed.Keith’s attending doctor said, “We can’t use the defibrillator. In his current condition, the defibrillator will only cause him to suffer more harm for no reason before he passes. His body has already reached its limit…”When the doctor saw that the electrocardiogram was almost close to a straight line, he asked I
Yule’s affair was known to everyone in Oskia’s circle of elites.Despite the fact the Golding family held a large influence in Oskia, it was somewhat lacking compared to the Acker family.Therefore, Lady Acker did not have much of an impression of Yule. Naturally, she knew nothing about his illness and subsequent recovery. But upon seeing Quinn speaking with so much certainty, coupled with the fact that she was already fond of Quinn because Quinn was engaged to her grandson, she couldn’t help but believe in Quinn. Still, some of her uncertainty remained. She glanced at Master Howton, who had been pinching his fingers and chanting incessantly, and asked sincerely, “What do you think, Master Howton?”Master Howton opened his eyes and sighed. “Lord Acker’s qi has already been exhausted. Even my Life-Sustaining Pill can’t do anything to save him. In my opinion, there’s no longer any pill in this world that can save him…”When Quinn heard this, she immediately rebutted and exclaime
The medicinal pill might not be effective. Even so, she would not blame her son or Quinn.Everyone in the family yearned for the family’s prosperity and good health. It was their first time meeting Quinn, but they treated her the same. The Acker family owed their gratitude to Quinn, therefore, she was willing to accept the result calmly.At this point, most had already given up. Only Quinn and Christian were still nervous.Master Howton sighed and shook his head. He continued to keep his eyes shut and recited some chant related to the Heavenly Venerate.The Healing Pill rapidly melted in Keith’s mouth, and soon, the medicine quickly spread to all parts of his body and took effect. However, his weak heartbeat stopped.A sharp alarm sound from the ECG machine soon rang out as the pulse line on the ECG monitor instantly became a straight line. At last, the Acker family’s hope was completely dashed.Holly lost control of her emotions, and she covered her eyes and burst into tears.
The continuous loud and piercing alarm suddenly disappeared, and everyone involuntarily turned their attention to the monitor.Master Howton’s impassioned chanting also came to an abrupt end. He had originally wanted to use his sutra to send Keith off, but he had never expected things to change so unexpectedly!The Acker family too could not understand what had just happened. Immediately after that, they saw the doctor pointing at the ECG pulse line that was moving up and down as he said in excitement, “His heartbeat has returned! His heart is beating again!!!”Everyone finally saw that the straight pulse line had begun to rise and fall once more with bigger and bigger movements!The Acker family immediately burst into tears of happiness, and Holly wept in joy. She hurriedly rushed forward to see her husband begin to breathe again, and she was astounded to see his chest begin to rise and fall.She stepped forward, grabbed her husband’s hand, and cried. “Keith! Can you hear me?”
As it turned out, the bean counters of the Moore Group had been suggesting that Jasmine axe Deluxe Vintage and other antique-related businesses.After all, Aurous Hill was hardly the heart of the nation's antique business—not even a hub, and Vintage Deluxe wouldn't grow on such soil.Moreover, their revenue wasn't optimistic.While the business wasn't exactly falling off after Mick took charge, the lack of experience amongst the management team meant they were struggling to break even.And for the bean counters, keeping Vintage Deluxe meant no profits—even net losses in the immediate future. Right now, they might still be able to package it nicely and sell it off, and selling a fixed asset coupled with brand value would more or less turn a profit. But once Vintage Deluxe started incurring losses and the brand value diminished in turn, it would be reduced to zero completely.In other words, the value of Vintage Deluxe was on a springboard—sell it anytime now, and the value would be
The Mr. Crane from the other end of the call was Mick Crane—the current manager of Vintage Deluxe, and a man whom all of Antique Street fawned over.Mick was the assistant manager to Raymond back then, and his skill in the antique trade was at best moderate. However, thanks to his friendly personality, he had managed to secure himself many decent connections down Antique Street.As such, once Jasmine had fired Raymond, Mick had taken over his position as caretaker manager. She was also aware that Mick didn't have the skills to do well as a manager, and her plan had always been to keep him as a caretaker before she found someone better.As her ties with Charlie had strengthened and he had started helping her, her position in her family had skyrocketed. However, that also meant she couldn't watch over most of Vintage Deluxe's operations.Now that she was the head of the Moore family and the leader of a dynasty worth billions, a small business like Vintage Deluxe was even less signifi
Moreover, Raymond's old identity had various occupations connected to antiques. So, his plan now was to head over to Antique Street, find a place to rest his legs, and then get a shop of moderate scale and cheap rent to start a business in Aurous Hill.He headed to the precinct at Antique Street to register his face and other details into the database, reinforcing his legal certification. The precinct then issued him a visa so that he would have clearance to stay at a hotel for a while.Most of Antique Street's stalls were closing shop by the time he left the precinct, but he picked up his backpack and went for a stroll.It was not that different from before, though he thought he would never come back at the time…Still, he hadn't been there for long when a vendor recognized him and exclaimed in surprise, "Hey! Aren't you Mr. Cole? From Vintage Deluxe? When did you come back?"As things hadn't changed down the street for the businesses or the environment, Vintage Deluxe was stil
Jacob shrugged. "If Hannah's debt is cleared, then she's fine now, no?""Yeah," Elaine replied. "I heard from an old friend not two days ago, saying that the document of her non-arrest… non-prosecution or whatever was sent in. Once it's approved, she's free to go home.""Most likely non-prosecution," Charlie replied."Right, I think that's it!" Elaine nodded repeatedly and sighed unhappily. "She's really been let off easy. She should be arrested and jailed for at least ten years."Jacob couldn't help sighing. "Come on, dear—Mom and Chris were out of line, but things are terrible for them now as it is. There's no reason to hope for the worst for them since Harold and Chris are still too hurt to work. It's thanks to Wendy's income that they have a living, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to survive."Then, worried that Elaine would get upset that he might be siding with his brother and mother too much, he quickly added, "I'm not taking their side or trying to get their case reinvest
Charlie actually had to change his opinion of Elaine after seeing her ready to kill Jacob earlier but getting all clingy now.Despite her many flaws, Elaine was the one half of their marriage who was earnestly in love.As for Jacob, he didn't seem to have any genuine feelings for Elaine at all.The mere mention of his past with Elaine always left him grumbling and complaining, but now, it was clear that Elaine was his best choice. With his attitude and the way he did things, he and Matilda would have split up by now even if they had gone to the States together.In the end, Jacob simply had too many of the flaws common amongst men his age, but while others would have no more than five out of twenty of those flaws, he had eighteen.As such, from another perspective entirely, the only woman who could tolerate Jacob now was Elaine and only Elaine. Coincidentally, her straightforward personality and tendency to get violent was the perfect counter against all of Jacob's flaws, reducing
Elaine nodded, emotional as well. "Well, Claire's finally home after being in the States for so long. Let's stop being clowns already—let's go home!"Jacob nodded, utterly relieved and teary-eyed. "Yes! Let's go home!"Meanwhile, Claire was left dumbfounded even as she watched while Charlie was left wiping the sweat off his brow—they had really just snatched victory from the jaws of defeat there!And it looked like they had truly succeeded in clearing any suspicion Elaine had of Matilda, and she most likely would do her best to avoid running into Matilda as well.That way, all the nonsense he had said wouldn't be exposed.Still, as Claire came to her senses, she told Charlie, "Darling, that was amazing! You somehow managed to talk your way out of that!"Charlie chuckled in embarrassment. "I had no choice but to sacrifice my pride for the peace in the family."Claire hugged his arm and giggled happily, "There's no victory without sacrifice. You're the best, dear!"-Meanwhile,
Though Jacob had nothing going for him, he had always had a huge ego, and he had never once admitted that he would lose to anyone in the presence of his wife and daughter.That was why both Elaine and Claire were shocked when he suddenly openly admitted that he was a piece of shit in front of them. They had never heard such a thing from him in the decades they had lived with him!In fact, Jacob himself was reluctant to insult himself like that.However, Charlie told him repeatedly that he absolutely must say it before he came here—because Charlie was dead sure that this line was the key to getting over this impasse, and it truly did put this crisis to rest.Even as Jacob finished, his heart was bleeding as he felt like he had just put his pride on the floor and trampled all over it until it was crushed to oblivion. Even though it was to clear any suspicion Elaine held toward him, to call himself a piece of shit—to say it himself that his beloved woman would think him beneath her,
Before Elaine knew it, she was reading the website she had just read again, and she did indeed find Yolden's name on it.With that, everything Charlie had said snapped together into a perfect chain of logic.Seeing the troubled look on her face, Charlie quickly added, "I'm not going to lie—Dad told me right away when he was told Matilda was getting married. We even discussed if we should tell you, and now you know why." "Matilda is doing so well for herself and got such an amazing husband, and they've picked Shangri-La's Sky Garden—something an average Joe could never hope to reach. And since she invited our whole family and not just us, Dad had to really think about it.""Eventually, he told me to hide it from you or it'd leave you devastated, so none of us said anything. We just didn't think you'd find that invitation and then end up having a big fight about it."Sighing, Charlie then continued, "But if you really want to go, we can go together for their wedding to put your min
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