Soon, the Rolls-Royce driven by Madam Marilyn stopped inside Scarlet Pinnacle Manor’s courtyard. Vera pushed the door open herself without waiting for Madam Marilyn, got out of the car, and walked toward her top-floor courtyard. Without looking back, she said, “Madam Marilyn, starting today, I won't be leaving the house. Just place my three meals outside my courtyard door, knock, and then you can leave.”Madam Marilyn felt surprised. She understood that Vera did not want to participate in the orientation, but she did not understand why Vera wanted to stay indoors without leaving the house.As a servant, she knew better than to ask unnecessary questions, so she said without hesitation, “Okay, Miss Lavor, I understand! Do you have any special requests for your meals?”Vera casually replied, “Anything will do. Just arrange it as you see fit.”After saying that, she quickly ran to the top floor, pushed the door open, and entered her own courtyard. The elderly Logan saw Vera ascendi
In the midst of his contemplation, he suddenly received an online call from the British Lord. His expression changed to surprise, and he quickly answered the call, respectfully saying, “Hello, British Lord.”On the other end of the phone, the cold voice questioned sternly, “Mr. Chardon, when did you arrive in Aurous Hill?”Mr. Chardon hurriedly replied, “British Lord, I arrived in Aurous Hill this morning.”The British Lord continued, “It should be late at night there now. You've been in Aurous Hill for over fifteen hours, so why haven't you dealt with the Ackers yet?”Mr. Chardon’s heart skipped a beat, and he said, “British Lord, I just arrived in Aurous Hill today and haven't had a chance to familiarize myself with the environment yet…”The British Lord pressed on, “Haven't I already told you that the Ackers are residing in the villa at Willow Manor? You only need to arrive at Willow Manor late at night and eliminate them all to avoid any complications in the future. It's a sim
Mr. Chardon was well aware that he could not afford to defy orders again without a suitable reason given that he had previously defied orders by delaying his arrival in Aurous Hill. Not defying orders meant he had to go to Willow Manor immediately and kill the Acker family members who were sleeping, along with everyone protecting them. Such a massive operation would undoubtedly shock the world. It was predictable that as the site of the incident, Aurous Hill would definitely enter an unprecedented state of martial law. If that happened, how could he continue to trace the clues about Zachary and his superior?Therefore, the best way to postpone the operation was to voluntarily disclose the matter of the magic instrument. After all, the magic instrument was precious not only to him but to the British Lord as well. Mr. Chardon thought of withholding the Thunder Order that could summon heavenly thunder, taking out the jade ring, and using it to persuade the British Lord to grant him
Ruby quickly pressed the answer button and said respectfully, “Hello, British Lord!” The British Lord spoke in a somewhat gentle tone over the other end of the line and said, “Ruby, where are you now?”Ruby frowned. She knew that carrying the cell phone given by the British Lord meant he could contact her at any time, twenty-four hours a day, and that he certainly knew her real-time location. However, despite knowing her location, the British Lord still went through the formalities of starting a casual conversation with her. It seemed like he wanted to get closer to her.With that thought in mind, Ruby said respectfully, “I am currently still in the Far East.”The British Lord hummed in response and asked her, “Have you found any clues in the Far East related to Vera?”Ruby quickly replied, “British Lord, I am incompetent and haven't found any information related to Vera yet.”The British Lord smiled and said, “Vera is very cunning. Not finding her is not a reflection of your in
Ruby’s mood became exceptionally disheartened upon hearing the British Lord’s words. Indeed, it was just as she had speculated. The British Lord had a constant hold on the location information of the several great earls. What was even more frightening was that the British Lord could analyze everyone's every movement in great detail based on time, location, and the information available on the local internet.This meant that in her lifetime, she might never be able to escape the British Lord’s control.Despite the great earls being able to execute missions for extended periods without reporting back, they still had the poison configured by the British Lord in their bodies. However, individuals such as them had longer lifespans, so the British Lord set a relatively broad time frame for them to take the antidote. While others had to take the antidote every two weeks, three months, or half a year, the great earls only had to take the antidote once every three years.But what differe
Moreover, she was going to Aurous Hill to monitor Mr. Chardon this time. This meant that she wouldn't have the opportunity to slack off in the days to come. Although she was unwilling, she dared not delay at all and hastily set off in the middle of the night.She paid a high price to buy a car from the hotel owner and traveled from the small city she was in to the Russian Far East city of Yakutsk. Meanwhile, Zachary carried the other jade ring he had taken back from Terry and a bank card with more than one million US dollars in it to indulge in the largest nightclub in Aurous Hill. He was surrounded by beautiful young women as he enjoyed himself thoroughly while drinking to his heart’s content. There were expensive foreign liquors in front of Zachary with a bottle of champagne costing at least ten to twenty thousand dollars. The better ones exceeded the price of one hundred thousand dollars.Additionally, several young and beautiful girls were gathered around Zachary, complimenti
When Zachary rushed to Isaac’s office, his hair was in disarray, and his body exuded a mix of alcohol and perfume. There were even a few bright and charming lipstick marks on his face. Upon seeing Charlie, he hurriedly smiled apologetically and asked, “Master Wade, are you looking for me?”Charlie nodded and asked, “Did you enjoy drinking last night?”Zachary wiped his mouth, grinned, and said, “Master Wade, I drank quite well last night!”Charlie smiled slightly and said, “Since you drank well, it’s time for you to get to work in the afternoon.”Zachary stood up straight immediately and inquired respectfully, “Master Wade, what do you want me to do? Just give me your orders!” Charlie hummed in response and asked, “Zachary, did you come back with the other jade ring?”Zachary immediately said, “Yes. I already got it back! Last night, I personally put it in the safe in the room while I was still a bit sober!” Charlie nodded and said, “That’s great. You should go back and fres
However, he could only harbor those thoughts, and he did not dare to casually cause trouble before dealing with the Ackers. Thus, he could only turn around reluctantly and continue walking in the other direction. At this moment, he had no idea that Ruby had found a window-side seat on the second floor of a tea house along Antique Street and was observing him from afar.Just then, Zachary, who was yawning as he dragged his stall items with him, walked in from the entrance of Antique Street. Mr. Chardon saw him at a glance, rushed to him in delight, and questioned, “Zachary, where have you been? I've been waiting for you all morning and noon without even seeing a glimpse of your shadow at all!”Zachary yawned, lazily covering his mouth with his palm while making lazy sounds. After the yawn, he lazily stretched before saying, “Old man, I'm running a stall, not working a 9-to-5 job. I'll come whenever I want. Who can control me?”When Mr. Chardon saw Zachary’s seemingly provoking ap
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