Late at night, a cargo ship set sail from the Blue Bay, carrying Stephen to Tahiti in the South Pacific.Stephen stood at the stern of the ship and felt a wave of emotions as he watched the city grow further and further away in the night. He was once a trusted aide of Charlie's father, Curtis. Twenty years ago, Curtis had given him two tasks. The first was to protect Charlie's safety after his own incident, and the other was to obey all orders from Ashley. Over the years, although Stephen had remained and served as a butler for the Wades, everything he did was actually based on Ashley's instructions.For more than ten years, even Jeremiah did not know whether his grandson, Charlie, was alive or dead. This was because Curtis did not make any arrangements for Stephen to inform Jeremiah about Charlie's situation. Ashley was still the one controlling everything behind the scenes.It was only when Ashley felt that the time was right that she let Stephen confess Charlie's situation to Jer
After finishing his sentence, he quietly asked Charlie, “Charlie, why does Miss Lavor refer to you as ‘Young Master’?” Charlie thought for a moment, then smiled and said, “She likes ancient culture. Don’t be surprised if she refers to herself as the humble one later.”Jeremiah shook his head and said with a smile, “I'm old now, and I don't understand what these young people like.”He then lowered his voice again and said to Charlie, “But Miss Lavor really has the demeanor of a noble lady. It's just that she's a bit younger. Otherwise, she would be quite suitable for you.”“Yes, she's young indeed…” Charlie smiled in agreement as he secretly thought to himself, ‘If you knew that Vera is already over three hundred years old, you'd probably be shocked.’After that, he and Jeremiah went to the dining room together.Vera was unpacking the breakfast she had bought when Charlie handed the photo album to Jeremiah and asked him, “Grandpa, do you remember this photo album?”Jeremiah frow
Charlie sent the photo to Janus on WhatsApp and attached a voice message: ‘Uncle Janus, could you please help me check if you know this person next to my father?’Janus quickly replied with a voice message: ‘Young Master, I've seen this person in the photo before. His name is Biden Cole, but I'm not very familiar with him. I just know that he's an Oskian antique dealer who shares a close relationship with your father.’Upon hearing that Janus knew this person, Charlie immediately called him. As soon as the call connected, he asked eagerly, “Uncle Janus, could you please tell me about Biden Cole in detail?”Janus said, “Biden’s family has been engaged in the antique business overseas, mainly focusing on Europe and America. Besides the United States, they also have businesses in England and France. His family has some reputation in the antique industry in Europe and the United States.”With that said, he continued, “The photo you sent is of Biden’s store in New York. It's said that t
Charlie instructed Shawn over the phone to arrange a private plane to take Janus to Aurous Hill at nine tonight and requested a convoy from Janus' house to take him to the airport. Though Shawn wasn't happy about it, he didn't dare to argue and reluctantly agreed with a smile.Later, Charlie and Vera bid farewell to Charlie’s grandfather, Jeremiah. On the plane, Vera asked Charlie, “Young Master, would it be a little too rushed if you’re going to New York tonight? You will only be able to spend a little more than ten hours in Aurous Hill, then.”Charlie shook his head and said, “Besides meeting my grandparents and briefing them on recent events, I want to see if they can think of any useful information. In addition, I want to greet my parents-in-law before departing.”Vera nodded and said softly, “I almost forgot that your wife is in the United States as well.”“Yes.” Charlie nodded and said, “I asked Miss Fox to invite her to the United States to help. She is in New York now.”
Charlie knew that Emmett had extraordinary influence in Eastcliff. With him involved, Vera's proposal was bound to succeed. Furthermore, the feasibility of Vera's method was very high. As long as the authorities endorsed it and showed enough concern for the Ackers, their safety in Oskia wouldn't be a problem anymore. Even if Fleur was extremely bold and courageous, she wouldn't dare to openly oppose a country unless she was really tired of living, having lived for four hundred years. However, according to what Charlie understood now, the longer a person lived, the more they treasured their life and feared death. Fleur, having lived for four hundred years, must be extremely afraid of death. Otherwise, she wouldn't have fled from the mountains in such a miserable state.When Vera saw that Charlie had no objections to the proposal, she called Emmett immediately and informed him of the situation. Emmett didn't hesitate and readily agreed as he started to communicate with his connectio
Charlie sighed and said, “I didn't find any concrete clues, and I was persuaded to turn back when I was halfway there.”Keith asked in surprise, “Persuaded? Who persuaded you to turn back?”Charlie replied, “Grandpa, it's a long story. Let's go inside and talk slowly.”Keith readily agreed. “Okay, let's go in and talk.”Charlie and the Acker family members entered the villa and settled in the dining room. Since there were no outsiders present, Charlie truthfully recounted his recent trip to Mount Tason and disclosed Stephen's situation.Upon hearing that Charlie was persuaded back by a fake abbess from Quiant Monastery, everyone was greatly shocked. They couldn't believe that someone had anticipated Charlie's actions and waited for him while he was on the way up Mount Tason. What was even more surprising was that Stephen, who had silently guarded Charlie for nearly twenty years, actually served another master.After Charlie was done speaking, his uncle, Christian, asked incredulo
In the afternoon, Keith, accompanied by his eldest son, Christian, and his second son, Kaeden, secretly went to Eastcliff with Emmett.Instead of immediately returning to his home at Thompson First, Charlie went to the adjacent villa, then called Caden, who was in charge of teaching martial arts there, and asked him to inform Isaac and Albert to meet him.Charlie was initially even a little worried that Isaac might suddenly disappear for no reason. After all, as the spokesperson of the Wades in Aurous Hill and as Stephen's direct subordinate, it was likely for someone to have deliberately arranged for Isaac to work in this position. Fortunately, Isaac was still at Champs Elys Resort.The moment Charlie saw Isaac, he felt slightly relieved. Frankly, knowing that Stephen was serving another master made him feel somewhat disappointed. On one hand, Stephen had been his father’s most loyal subordinate, and although Charlie couldn't demand Stephen’s unwavering loyalty to the Wades, his
Charlie was relieved when he heard this. He then said to Isaac, “Mr. Cameron, Mr. Thompson will temporarily leave the Wades for some time. During this time, the position of the Wades’ chief butler will be vacant. I want you to take over Mr. Thompson's position temporarily. I hope that Mr. Thompson will return in the future, and if he does, you can return the position to him and act as his deputy. If he doesn't return, you will continue to hold the position.”Isaac was surprised and quickly said, “Young Master, my work has always been limited to this province, and I've only just managed to understand my current tasks. Now, you’re asking me to take over Mr. Thompson's position. How… How can I be qualified for that?!” Charlie asked, “Didn't Mr. Thompson climb up step by step?”Isaac awkwardly said, “Well, Mr. Thompson climbed up to that position over ten to twenty years. My abilities are much inferior to his, and I might not be able to convince others with my qualifications.”Charlie
If Matilda still had feelings for Jacob, his nostalgic strategy would definitely have a strong impact. However, Matilda had already decided to move on, so Jacob's suggestion did not stir any emotions in her at all. With an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, Jacob, Yolden is downstairs waiting for me. We have something to discuss. How about another day? We can have dinner together, and I'll treat you." Jacob didn't expect the nostalgia strategy to fall flat. His original plan was to use nostalgia to get Matilda to go with him to eat near the school, then take the opportunity to revisit old places and subtly reignite their past memories. After all, revisiting old places was the best way to rekindle old feelings, no exceptions. It was like drinking the pasta water after cooking the pasta. However, he never imagined that Matilda's expression wouldn't change in the slightest. There was no shyness, no hesitation, no nervousness, and certainly no fluttering heart. She simply and
Matilda had been listening attentively before, but now, she was lowering her head, fiddling with her phone, and her expression even carried a hint of shyness and happiness, like that of a young girl. Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. While doing the presentation, he couldn't help but resentfully think to himself, "What has Matilda been chatting about with that Yolden guy? She's so happy..." At that moment, Matilda had just received a message from Yolden. In the message, Yolden informed her of the outcome of his conversation with Charlie and expressed his desire to have the wedding as soon as possible. Seeing how eager her beloved was to marry her, Matilda naturally felt very touched. At that moment, she had completely fallen into Yolden's love. For this man, who had a similar background, education, values, and even lifestyle to her own, she could find no fault with him. She felt that he was perfectly tailor-made for her by heaven itself, almost as if everything about him perfectly m
Charlie's worries were not unfounded. He had long known that Jacob had not completely given up on Matilda despite her relationship with Yolden. After returning from the cultural exchange in Korea, Jacob had been more dejected than ever before—something he hadn't even displayed when his family had gone bankrupt. If there was still a chance to salvage the relationship when one's beloved was merely dating someone else, their marriage was tantamount to a death sentence. Furthermore, considering the high intellectual backgrounds of Matilda and Yolden as well as their age and life experience, their decision to marry at this stage of life undoubtedly signaled their intention to build a long-term future together. This left Jacob with absolutely no chance at all. At this moment, Jacob was blissfully unaware of the devastating news and was busy conducting a calligraphy and painting workshop at Senior University. The so-called workshop was essentially a few slides showcasing classic
After that, Charlie asked with a bit of curiosity, "When did you and Matilda decide to get married?" Yolden smiled sheepishly and explained, "Remember when the city organized our cultural exchange trip to South Korea? I confessed to Matilda during that trip, and she accepted. After spending some time together, we both felt we were a great match. Considering our age, we didn't want to delay such an important decision any longer, so we decided to take the next step and build a family together." He continued, "Last month, we went to Lambonear for a few days. I bought a ring and proposed to her by the seaside, and she said yes. We also sought the opinion of our respective children—Autumn and Paul—and they were both very supportive. Both kids are exceptional and independent, so they urged us to have the wedding as soon as possible. I wanted to wait until you returned so I could check your schedule. For our wedding, we'd like to ask you to be our officiant." "What? Me as the officiant?
Charlie said without hesitation, "Sure. When is it convenient for you? Send me the address, and I'll go meet you." Charlie had always respected Yolden not only because he was a nice and talented man but also because he and his mother went way back and went to the same school. Yolden said hastily, "I've just come from Senior University. It's the weekend, and I don't have classes today. Why don't you send me the address and I'll meet you?" Charlie gave it some thought. It was a little past 3 p.m., so Yolden had likely already had lunch, and there were still a few hours until dinner. Inviting him to The Heaven Springs didn't seem ideal for a discussion. Considering that he had lived in the United States for many years and probably had a habit of having coffee in the afternoon, Charlie said, "How about this? There's a Starbucks not far south of the university. Let's meet there for a cup of coffee." "Perfect!" Yolden said with a smile. "I was just thinking you could give me an addre
On the way back to The Heaven Springs, Julien was in a much better mood than when he had arrived. Initially, he was filled with anxiety, unsure of what Charlie had planned. But now, everything had become clear. The troublesome matter of Salem and Edmund was no longer his concern. All he had to do was wait for the video from the ship to be released and then head back home. Charlie noticed his improved mood and smiled as he asked, "Julien, you've resolved the most critical matter right after landing in Aurous Hill. You must be feeling pretty happy, right?" Julien chuckled and said, "To be honest, before coming here, I was worried that I'd end up going back empty-handed and being secretly mocked by others. But now, it's different. Once your video is released, no one can blame me for not doing my job. If anything, they can only blame their family for missing their chance. After all, so much time has passed, and it's their fault Salem and Edmund were moved to the Middle East." As he
"Good." With a light nod, Charlie turned to Jiro and spoke up, "Jiro, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself." "Okay, Mr. Wade!" Jiro beamed excitedly. "Please tell me what to do! I promise I will do my best to serve you." Charlie smiled and said, "Once the ship is ready, you'll board it together with them. Your only task is to keep a close watch on them the entire time. Don't let them pull any tricks. If you succeed, you'll be a free man here. You'll get a basic monthly salary and can ask for anything you like within reason—so long as it's not contraband, it will be yours." Hearing this, Jiro was so thrilled that he trembled all over. His current treatment was already decent, but he was still only a semi-free man. He didn't dare casually set foot on the ground outside. If he could become a truly free man, he would be able to enjoy the sunlight outdoors freely. More importantly, from then on, he would have a salary. Although he couldn't personally go out shopping, having a sa
Julien had uncovered Charlie's true identity quite some time ago and investigated Charlie's background. He was well aware that Charlie had become the head of the Wade family and that the Acker family fully supported him. Although the outside world believed that Ten Thousand Armies had subdued the Wade family, Julien had witnessed Charlie's methods firsthand. Even the top two figures of the Rothschild family had been toyed with by Charlie, so how could Ten Thousand Armies possibly make him surrender? Thus, Julien deduced that Ten Thousand Armies was undoubtedly Charlie's covert tool. Considering the combined strength of the Wade family, the Acker family, and Charlie's personally cultivated forces, it was evident that Charlie even had the power to contend with the entire Rothschild family. Moreover, with the life-extending pill in his possession and the life of the Rothschild family head in his hands, Charlie's chances of prevailing in a confrontation against the Rothschilds were e
Enraged, Julien cursed while angrily raising his leg, "Damn it! How dare you negotiate your terms now?!" Charlie stopped him and said, "Calm down. 1 billion dollars is quite a good amount. You offer 100 million, he offers 1 billion—doesn't that mean I'll make 1.1 billion?" Dumbfounded, Julien said, "Mr. Wade, how can you even take that money? Wouldn't taking the money expose you?" Charlie smiled and said, "That's simple. I'll give you a plan that not only makes your task impossible to complete but also gives me a chance to collect the money. What do you think?" "What's the idea?" Julien asked in surprise. Charlie replied, "Here's the plan, I'll have someone put these two on a cargo ship bound for the Middle East. Once the ship passes Sri Lanka and enters the Arabian Sea, I'll have them record a video with the endless ocean as the backdrop. In the video, they'll inform their family to prepare 1 billion dollars. The money will be transferred directly in cryptocurrency." "Once