Devin had no intention of flattering Julien. He had studied the book "Art of War" some time ago and researched some ancient Oskian documents on power tactics. He was taking this opportunity to flatter Julien, making him feel invincible to consequently force him to make unintentional mistakes. After all, Harrison was still alive and held absolute power in the family. If Julien carelessly made any mistakes, Harrison might be repulsed by his attitude and disqualify him from his position as an heir. On the other hand, Devin had no intention to compete for the position of heir. He merely felt that Harrison's continued reign was the best situation for them, and it was much better than any other sibling succeeding the throne. Julien was over the moon when his brothers came to him with pleading looks and humble statures. They were brothers, and there was no class difference between them. But now, he was finally about to take the decisive step as an heir, which indicated that his brothe
On one hand, these patriarchs wanted to pass on the position of the head of the family to their heirs in the future. Still, on the other hand, they tried to delay the inheritance as long as possible so that the heirs took the position early enough. Moreover, they didn't want their heirs to show any excitement and expectation about inheriting the position, nor did they expect any usurpation before the inheritance. If Julien had shown any sign of passion when his brothers flattered him, albeit a little bit, Harrison would have been furious, filled with anger and resentment toward him. However, Julien's reaction exceeded his expectations, and in his view, it was nothing short of perfect. Thanks to Charlie's advice, Julien composed himself, and the minute he entered the ward and saw Harrison on the bed, he immediately curled his lips down and donned a sad grimace. With teary eyes, he walked quickly to the bed, knelt on one knee, looked at Harrison, and asked in a choking voice,
Julien's heart skipped a beat as he listened to Harrison stammered his words. For the past two days, he had felt uneasy and frustrated toward Charlie as he had been manipulated to betray Harrison and his family. Yet, at this moment, he couldn't help but feel grateful for Charlie. He sighed and thought, 'Wow, Charlie is really something. Everything has unfolded according to his plan!' "As soon as the news of the tower's return to Oskia came out, Dad really fell ill and lost the will to continue running the family. My brothers and their kids also lost the chance to achieve anything in this matter. As Dad's eldest son and the original heir, I have naturally taken over his position!" "Perfect? Well, this is damn perfect! How wonderful would it be if Royce were half as good as Charlie?" Despite his excitement, Julien maintained his respectful posture and said to Harrison, "Dad, rest well now. I'll talk to the doctors and discuss the best treatment so that you can start rehabilitat
Helena was proactively involved and even intended to come from Canada to visit Harrison. The royal family must have had their considerations, so Harrison presumed that the Nordic royal family at least hoped to get to a closer connection with the Rothschild family. Knowing that he was about to officially take over the family, Julien felt that Helena's arrival at this time would definitely add luster to his reputation, so he said hastily, "Okay, Dad. I'll contact Queen Helena and check her schedule." "Good." Harrison nodded. "I'll leave it to you..." - After Julien left the ward, he immediately had the doctors arrange for the meeting and had the meeting room prepared. Meanwhile, he entered an empty room, closed the door, and called Charlie. As soon as the call was answered, Charlie's voice echoed from the other end of the line, "Julien, have you seen your father?" "Yes, I have!" Julien beamed attentively. "Mr. Wade, you must be a psychic! Dad said that he would gather everyon
Charlie ended the call when Julien expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Charlie. He then discussed with Helena how they should give him a reality check early the next morning. Since Helena's visit to Canada would not end for another two days, she had relatively quite a lot of free time. In addition, Helena had previously announced that she was ill, so her schedule in Canada was not very tight. Helena was free in the morning tomorrow, but she had a meeting and visit in the afternoon. Hence, she could leave for New York to meet Harrison at seven and then come back at noon. Her task when meeting Harrison was not difficult. It could be done in at most half an hour. Ever since he had experienced the charm of the AI model the last time, Charlie had been fascinated by this new technology. He couldn't think of any use for the AI right now, but he figured that it would be of great use to Ten Thousand Armies and Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group. In fact, it should be able to play an
Charlie said with a smile, "After you reach a deal with Harrison, you must ask him to agree to an additional condition." "What is it?" asked Helena. "Make him promise not to tell anyone about the pill, not even his sons. If anyone asks why he suddenly recovered, he should insist that it was a miracle and that God appeared to save him. He must give these answers no matter who asks him." Speaking of which, Charlie added, "Tell him that you have a better elixir. If he needs it, you can negotiate the price on the premise that he must agree to the additional condition." "Okay, Mr. Wade." Helena nodded. "I'll take note of it." Charlie continued, "By the way, after everything is settled, tell him that you were moved by Julien's love for him, so you brought such a precious pill because you wanted to help Julien gain a better impression in Harrison's eyes." "Since you want to keep Julien in check, why are you helping him gain a good impression in front of Harrison?" asked Helena, pu
Helena promised without hesitation, "Don't worry. I'll send him to Oskia safely." "I wish you a successful start tomorrow." Charlie nodded and smiled. After saying goodbye to Helena, Charlie went to Raymond's room. Charlie informed Raymond of his next plan and lamented apologetically, "I will not go to Europe with you this time. Helena will arrange everything." "Thank you, Mr. Wade," Raymond said with gratitude. "Please take care of your business. I'll report to you as soon as I arrive in Aurous Hill." Charlie nodded slightly and informed, "When you return to Oskia this time, everything will begin anew. Helena will give you a temporary identity in Europe. After you arrive in Aurous Hill, I'll have someone prepare a new identity for you—an identity of someone who has never left Oskia and has an impeccable background." Charlie then sighed a little and continued, "Even though the Rothschilds have dropped the charges against you, they might not give up on taking revenge on you
Raymond said, "I don't know much about anything, just a few decades of experience in antiques. So, if my identity as Raymond can be made flawless, I'll run a small antique store in Aurous Hill. As you said, the greatest concealment is in plain sight, and I can keep myself safe. Besides, I wouldn't have to hide in the dark all the time. Also, if you ever need me for anything, I can be at your service whenever you call." Charlie felt that Raymond made a lot of sense. The identity of Biden Cole was currently considered missing. However, for the Rothschild family, he had died in the fire along with Zekeiah. To the Qing Eliminating Society, he had perished along with Zekeiah and Mr. Zorro. Since they couldn't locate the people they were most familiar with, namely Zekeiah and Mr. Zorro, they couldn't bypass these two and specifically look for Biden. Besides, the identity of Raymond Cole was a native Oskian antique dealer who struggled with Pan's Antique and was fired by Jasmine in Vintag
In the first place, Jimmy had come to Oskia to claim a stake in Smith Group Corporate Law, ideally strong-arming Paul and Matilda into splitting the firm in two, with Jimmy taking everything in the States while Paul kept what was left.The way Jimmy saw it, Paul and Matilda were going to be permanently residing in Oskia anyway. There was no way they could manage things over in another country properly, so it was basically returning the firm to the rightful owner.Naturally, Jimmy also knew that despite bearing the Smith family name, the success of Smith Group Corporate Law was all the work of Jimmy's brother and Matilda. Jimmy's father had helped to a certain extent, but that extent of financial support wouldn't amount to an investment at all. No judge in the world would support his claim to the law firm's shares.Therefore, when he learned that Matilda was remarrying, he thought he could seize the moment to cause a scene. Nothing could be better if she and Paul decided to sacrifice
Jimmy deliberately raised his voice as he said coolly, "Oh, but I didn't want to intervene. It's you and your mother who left the States in a split second, taking with you the law firm which bears the Smith family name. Don't you think such behavior is inappropriate?"Seeing the surprised reactions of the guests, Paul promptly retorted, "The law firm uses the Smith family name, but it is my parents' legacy! They worked blood and sweat to build it from the ground up, and as their only son, I have a veto when it comes to decisions. Or did we need your permission to move to Oskia?""Where's your conscience, Paul?" Jimmy pursed his lips. "Even if you don't know how Smith Group Corporate Law was founded, is that the case for you? It would have been a joke if it weren't for my father's connections!"Hell, it's no exaggeration that it was my father who fought to expand the law firm across America, and just using the family name means you're borrowing the family's influence. The family hono
The blonde man's voice drew everyone's attention in an instant.Despite his foreign appearance, he spoke Oskian fluently and walked with a haughty gait, almost as though he was above the rest.Paul's expression turned grim the instant he saw him, and he hurried over with Charlie.Still, before Paul could speak, Charlie stopped him, frowning at the man as he said, "Don't you think it's inappropriate to come slinging personal attacks at someone else's wedding?"The man clearly didn't know Charlie, and he wasn't worried, seeing that he was young.Snorting in disdain, he asked, "You must be from the groom's family, yes? Please tell him that he doesn't deserve my sister-in-law.""It's up to the happy couple to decide that," Charlie retorted quietly. "Deserving someone is no issue as long as they both love each other."The man pursed his lips and looked pointedly around him. "Just look at how simple this wedding is. Forget picking an unassuming city like Aurous Hill—is there a single
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