"How could you possibly know?" Robert's face was ghostly pale. "I can't believe it."Charles gestured dismissively, and Ronald caught on quickly. "Gentlemen, Mr. Hoffman would like a private chat with the three directors, please."The usual crowd that hung around Charles left first. The neutral ones, sensing the tide had turned, did not want to get dragged down too, so they scattered quickly as well.Soon, the large conference room was left with only Charles, Robert, and two other directors.Charles gestured for them to sit. They were no strangers to tough times, but they had never seen Charles this assertive before. They realized they had underestimated him."Don't you gentlemen want to see?" Charles asked."No, we'd rather not," they replied.Charles's smile was thin but dangerous. "Money laundering overseas, dealings with arms dealers… These are serious crimes." His face turned stern. "Collosus Group has always been clean. My grandfather may have retired, but his rules haven'
"Charles, you'll pay for this!"Robert's curses filled Collosus Group as he was led away. No one knew what would happen to him, but everyone knew who really held the power here now."Mr. Hoffman, the young miss is looking for you!"Charles's secretary was on the phone. "She's already in your office!""Got it," Charles replied, giving Ronald a meaningful look. "Handle what comes next. And remember, if you don't uproot the weeds, they'll grow back with the spring breeze.""Yes, Mr. Hoffman!" Ronald replied with a serious tone. "I'll take care of it right away."Charles walked back into his office and found Chloe sitting on the couch, looking fidgety and worried. She was holding a coffee cup, but she could not bring herself to drink from it.As soon as the office door opened, she jumped to her feet. "Charles!"Charles gave a little squint and leaned casually against the door, a half-smile on his face. "We're at the office, you know.""Mr. Hoffman!" Chloe said, her voice showing s
Charles had told everyone it was time to leave, and Chloe, having gotten what she wanted the most, did not plan to stick around. However, she stopped and turned back at the door. "Charles, if you ever need help in the future, you can count on me."Charles just smiled and stayed quiet.Noelle was getting ready to leave work when her phone rang. It was her Grandpa Samuel, which caught her off guard. "Grandpa?""Noelle, are you done for the day?" Samuel's voice sounded old and weary. "I’d like to see you."Noelle bit her lip and checked the time. "You mean right now?""Yes, it's been a few days since I've seen you, and I miss you. But I know it's not easy for you to come to the Shaw's with your mom and dad... Well…" Samuel let out a heavy sigh. "Let's just meet up, okay?""Sure!" Noelle agreed. "Let's meet at Homestyle Garden House." She had started the coffee house with a friend and had some shares in it. It was doing well, but it was not really of Noelle's concern.After setting
"Oh, Noelle," Grandpa Samuel said, his voice full of concern. "You're so stubborn. That's why things turned out the way they did last time. You need to take these shares, whether you like it or not. Now sign it! Aren't you going to listen to me?"He pretended to be upset. "Your sister got her shares when she turned eighteen. It's only right that you get yours too. If your parents won't give them to you, then I will."Noelle looked at her grandpa, feeling torn. She had never really wanted anything from him.He was right. On her eighteenth birthday, the whole Shaw family was against giving her shares in City Ring Corp. She had felt so sad, but not because she did not get the shares. She was hurt by the way her parents, Julian and Jade, had treated her."I never wanted to fight over the family fortune. If I take these shares now, won't Julian and Jade think I'm trying to compete with Winter?" Noelle was worried. She had a hard enough time getting along with them already, and claiming
"Just keep them!" Charles looked at Noelle. "You shouldn't feel bad about it!""You're not even a little surprised? Twenty percent is a lot. That’s more than what Winter got!" Noelle had her own thoughts about it. She had argued with her parents and Winter before, but she never really wanted to cut ties completely with them. She just did not want to fight with Winter anymore. However, Samuel had suddenly given her a big chunk of the company, and that meant things were going to get shaky.Noelle was not one to fuss over shares. Actually, the way the Shaw family had treated her made her stop caring about such superficial things."You do realize that with these shares, the Shaw family could be in for some big changes, right?"Charles chuckled and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "It's not as bad as you think. Sir Shaw must have his reasons for doing this. It's just you and Winter, his two granddaughters, and Joshua's overseas. If the company went to someone else, all of your
Every table was occupied when they walked in. Thankfully, Noelle had made a reservation half an hour earlier. She looked embarrassed as she ruffled her hair and said, “Actually… We could go somewhere else for dinner!” “It’s alright!” Charles said as he took Noelle’s hand and led her to the waiting area. She was stunned and allowed him to hold one of her hands while she used the other to hold their waiting number. Charles let go of Noelle’s hand as they sat down, leaving her grasping air and feeling empty. She looked down at where Charles had been holding her just now, leaving her palm slightly damp. A slight blush crept onto Noelle’s face as she gazed at her palm, and she hurriedly looked away, only to have her gaze collide with Charles’ eyes. She felt her heart skip a beat as she instinctively tightened her hold on the number, the corner of her lips tugging upward as she said, “What a crowd!” “Yeah,” Charles replied, the hint of a smile appearing in his eyes. “No rush.” “No
At the thought of that, she let out a chuckle. Charles held his teacup in his hand as he raised an eyebrow at the sight of Noelle laughing. “What’s so funny?”Stunned, Noelle bit down on her lip as she thought about how she should explain the situation to him. In the end, though, she chose to shake her head and say, “It’s nothing!” After all, she could not tell him she was thanking the stars she had not been born in March, could she? Charles smiled and poured Noelle another cup of tea as he said, “Since your grandfather has given you a portion of the shares, you should keep hold of it without any worries. I’m sure you know what Xavier and Joseph are plotting!” As Charles changed the subject, Noelle became serious as well as she nodded. “I’m sure Grandpa has his reasons for doing so. I just hope things aren’t as complicated as they seem.”“Your grandfather is the founder of City Ring Corp, and he built your family’s fortune up from the ground, which is why City Ring Corp is so imp
Noelle smiled. When she saw that Charles was serving her food, she hurriedly took her bowl from him and said, “Let me do it!”Charles merely smiled as he said, “Let’s eat!” Noelle enjoyed her meal thoroughly. After all, it had been some time since she could eat so freely. However, she noticed that Charles did not have much to eat. It was evident that he was not the biggest fan of spicy food, and she quietly took note of that. As the two headed downstairs after finishing the meal, they bumped into another couple leaving the cinema. It sounded like they were discussing the plot of the movie they had just watched. “You said you’d watch the movie with me, but you ended up falling asleep!” “It’s not my fault! Girls love watching miscommunication tropes, but do misunderstandings really happen that frequently in real life?” “But these movies are inspired by real life! Of course it’s an exaggerated version of real life! There’s no way it would be identical to daily life. I don’t care.
Just as he had predicted, Julian had teamed up with Milo, which explained why Winter arrived so quickly. Charles had anticipated that, so he was not too surprised."Make sure someone keeps an eye on Winter. I'm curious to see what they're up to!""Really? I thought you'd confront her directly!" Peter chuckled softly. "That's not like you!"With Noelle involved this time, Peter had assumed Charles would be furious and have Winter captured right away."Didn't you say the Baker family is involved too? Well, then let's give them a surprise!" After ending the call, Charles's expression turned fierce and intense.Sean and Linda were quick to act. They quickly devised a plan and made their way to Capiton, using academic research as a guise to avoid raising any doubts about Sean.However, Grant showed up when they got to Capiton.Sean and Grant had crossed paths before but were not exactly friends. When Grant showed up at his door, Sean could not quite figure out his intentions. Meanw
Linda recalled the stuff she had sent to Noelle and thought, if Noelle did not care, why should she?It turned out the folks from the covert Lifebringer clan were far more ruthless than Sean had ever imagined."Hey, you there?"Sean lifted an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to come with me?"Linda nodded.With a grin, Sean revealed a secret door in the lab. Linda's eyes widened as she trailed after him. "Wow, I've been here many times, but I never knew there was a whole other world in your lab!" It exceeded her wildest expectations.The lab she knew was just a simple study, but this new room was packed with shiny tools and gadgets, everything she could dream of. "This place is even better equipped than my family's. Hey Sean, I've made up my mind. I'm going to work here!"For a doctor, that equipment was priceless. Linda was a genius, just like Saxon, completely devoted to her research. So, once she laid eyes on all that gear, she could not pull herself away. However, she did not
Sean's expression grew serious. "But you said before that it wouldn't have any effect on them. I assumed you had a solution!"How could that kind of virus not affect the babies in Noelle's womb? Sean had always harbored some doubts, but considering Linda came from a prestigious medical family and was also the sister of the legendary Mystic Lifebringer, he had trusted her judgment.Linda smacked her lips. "Honestly, there's no way to completely eliminate it unless we find my brother!"She was well aware of the limits of her medical skills. "But don't worry. I've been adding special medicinal ingredients to the herbal soups Noelle drinks every day. They're designed to flush out toxins while strengthening both her body and the babies."She glanced at Sean. "So, you don't need to worry for now.""When exactly is your brother coming?" That was Sean's real concern."How would I know?"Sean was about to press further when his phone rang. It was Charles. "What is it?""Winter's out. Lo
Meanwhile, Linda and Sean worked together in the hospital lab, splitting tasks to analyze the virus as quickly as possible. Neither of them slept all night as they were completely absorbed in their experiments.Although Linda was highly skilled in alternative medicine, her knowledge of modern medicine was self-taught. Conducting large-scale experiments on her own was not feasible, which was why she had asked Sean to join her.Sean was meticulous in his work while Linda, on the other hand, was starting to doze off beside him.It was not entirely her fault. Under normal circumstances, she would have gone to bed by now. Even though she was energetic for her age and generally disciplined, this was the time she usually rested.As Sean continued working, fatigue crept up on him as well. When he glanced over, he saw Linda struggling to keep her eyes open, looking half-asleep but still forcing herself to stay awake. It was an amusing sight.Sensing Sean's gaze, Linda opened her eyes. "How
Meanwhile, after Ronald left, Elijah immediately made a call. "Hello? Are you trying to get me killed? Winter was someone Charles Hoffman wanted to deal with, and you made me release her! Didn't you say she wasn't a problem?"Elijah was convinced he was doomed. What he did not know was that Ronald had already locked onto his phone number and quickly traced the call's recipient.When Ronald identified the number, he was momentarily stunned before his expression turned cold. It was a number from Capiton."Mr. Hoffman, Winter is indeed no longer in prison," Ronald reported with his head lowered.Charles remained silent while Ronald stood still, waiting.It was not until Charles finished reviewing the document in his hand that he looked up, his icy gaze sweeping over Ronald's face. He let out a cold scoff. "You know what your punishment should be.""Yes, Mr. Hoffman!" Ronald admitted his failure to handle the matter properly."Additionally, I found that Mr. Wonderton made a call to
Ronald was still half-asleep and stared at the darkened phone screen for a long moment before realizing that Charles had hung up on him.Early the next morning, he rushed to the prison to check on things. However, the result left him deeply dissatisfied. "What do you mean someone took her away? Who took her? She committed such serious crimes, and you just let her go so easily?"Having woken up so early, Ronald was already in a foul mood. Hearing this response only made his temper flare, and once his anger rose, so did his irritation.The man across from him was none other than the warden, but even he had to tread carefully around Ronald.Seeing Ronald's stormy expression, the warden wiped his sweat nervously. "Uh… Mr. Wells, I… I wasn't aware this person was important. Is she?"Ronald's face darkened even further, looking absolutely livid. The warden turned his head and snapped at the officer nearby."Who told you to release her?! Didn't you hear Mr. Wells? She's a high-profile c
After coaxing Noelle to sleep, Charles finally stepped out of the bedroom, only to find Peter standing at the doorway with a cigarette between his fingers.When he saw Charles coming out, he raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"Charles' expression was heavy. "Nothing."Peter smirked. "Need any help?""Not for now." Charles glanced at Peter. "Got kicked out?"Peter's face darkened instantly. "You really seem to be hoping for my misfortune."Charles let out a cold snort. "Your house is big enough. There's no need for you to squeeze into my tiny place."His meaning was clear—Peter wasn't welcome here.However, Peter had no intention of leaving. "I think you should be begging me to stay. After all, trouble could break out here at any moment. Do you really think you can handle everything alone?"His wicked grin made Charles grit his teeth."Peter, it's been a long time since we sparred," Charles said through clenched teeth."I don't fight. My wife is waiting for me in the room." Pe
"Trust the people you use, and don't use those you don't trust." Charles knew where to draw the line.Noelle did not press further. "Alright then. You said it yourself—you're staying with me. You'd better not go back on your word!"As she spoke, she nuzzled against Charles' chest, resembling a content little kitten. "By the way, since Yves is part of the Hoffmans, what does Grandpa think about all this?"At the mention of that, Charles pondered for a moment. "Naturally, Grandpa hopes he'll acknowledge his heritage, but Yves has his own thoughts. As for what will happen in the end, I don't know.""Oh, I see." Noelle nodded in understanding.Charles reached out and smoothed a stray strand of Noelle's hair. "He's my eldest uncle's only grandson. My uncle's son turned out to be a disappointment, but Grandpa never seemed to mind. Now, Yves is the last remaining child from that branch of the family, so...""Wait, then what about Simon?" Noelle had heard a bit about Simon from Charles b
"There's more!"Wearing gloves, Linda picked up the rest of the items. Bob's gaze landed on them, and he raised an eyebrow. "This?"His long fingers pointed at the tattered rag doll. "What's this?"Noelle's name was written on it, and the doll had been so badly mutilated that it barely resembled its original form.This really was targeted at Noelle?"Has Noelle offended anyone recently? Think carefully!" This was no trivial matter.Today, it was just a package containing dead rats and a doll to scare Noelle, but who knew what might happen next?Phoenix Tree Residence had guards, but if someone was determined to act, nothing was impossible.Charles remained silent for a moment before saying, "I'll investigate."Bob nodded. "Good. If you need my help, just say the word.""Alright." Charles nodded before turning to Yves. "It's getting late. You should head back."Yves gave a slight nod. "Alright."Once everyone had left, Charles stared at the items for a long while before orde