Lucas scoffed. "I shouldn't have let Corinne marry Jeremy!"Jason patted Lucas' shoulder again. "Come now. You don't want to hurt your foot again, so just wait here patiently. I'll go look for Corinne on your behalf."After that, he strolled out of the office nonchalantly.Frowning, Lucas watched him as he left before sighing helplessly.'I must make Corinne come back home once she's found so that she'll never have to suffer under Jeremy's rule again.'…Jeremy rushed back home as soon as his plane landed at midnight. He did not even bother to greet his grandparents before going upstairs to his room to look for clues.Even though Corinne was nowhere to be seen, the bedroom was still filled with the lingering scent of her favorite shampoo.Jeremy opened the wardrobe and noted she did not take any clothes with her at all.'She left without saying goodbye again? But why?' He punched the wardrobe door.The noise brought Francine—who had been awake all the while—to the room.Seei
Francine ignored Sophia and turned toward Jeremy in the hopes of unraveling the mystery. However, he left the room before she could even ask him."Jeremy, where are you going?!" shouted Francine as she chased after him.However, it was Sophia who answered her instead. "Need you ask? He must've gone to look for Miss Corinne."Annoyed, Francine turned to her impatiently. "What exactly is your relationship with my brother? What right do you have to meddle in our family affairs?""Didn't I already tell you I'm a very good friend of Jeremy's?" answered Sophia cheerfully. Living abroad gave her a good temper and an open mind.For some reason, Francine could not bring herself to like Sophia. "It's still rude for you to barge in here even if you guys are close, so get out of here now!"Sophia shrugged and spread her hands. "Where should I sleep tonight?"Francine frowned in annoyance. "You can sleep in your home! Don't tell me you're expecting us to host you!""But my home is abroad. I
"Francine, you should be sleeping. Why are you here making a ruckus in your brother's room?" came Pamela's tired voice from the hallway.She could not sleep out of worry for Corinne, so she got up to see what was going on when she heard Francine shouting. A minute later, she pushed open the door."Grandma, Jeremy has brought a woman home. She claims she's a very good friend of his. I asked her to go sleep in the guest room, but she insisted on sleeping here 'cause she doesn't want the bad energy in the guest room to affect her luck," said Francine as soon as she saw Pamela. "Don't you think she's doing this on purpose?"Pamela looked to where Francine was pointing and was stunned by the woman standing there."Hello, Grandma! I'm Sophia," she greeted Pamela warmly. "Sorry if I've woken you up from your sleep."Pamela nodded after she snapped out of her shock. "You're more than welcome to stay since you're already here, but not in this room. You can stay in Francine's room, and she
Corinne sighed with relief. Frowning, she opened the door and said, "What are you doing here so late?"Jason raised the takeout bag in his hand. "I'm guessing you can't sleep, so I bought you some supper."He then stepped inside and changed his shoes. His movements were so natural that Corinne found it hard to believe he had not been back in this apartment for a while.Corinne closed the door and crossed her arms. "Jason, I know I was the one who asked for your help, but you shouldn't take it upon yourself to do things I didn't ask."Jason ignored her and walked into the kitchen to get some plates out. "It's cajun crawfish. Do you want some?""Of course I want some," said Corinne with a frown.Jason laughed and beckoned with his finger at her. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come over here! The cajun crawfish from this restaurant are delicious."Corinne walked over and saw Jason had already put the cajun crawfish on the plate. They looked and smelled really good. However, she c
Corinne's lips twitched for a second. She then ate a big mouthful of the crawfish. "And yet, you keep showing your face in front of me even when I ignore you."Jason put a freshly-peeled crawfish next to her lips. "That's why I'm working hard to make you not ignore me."Corinne was not used to being fed by another person, so she stabbed the crawfish with her fork before putting it into her mouth.Jason did not mind her rejection. "Do you want to know what the Holdens are doing?" he asked with a smile.Corinne was a little taken aback by the sudden question and said nothing.She had been avoiding using her electronic devices or contacting Xante and Aaron the whole day. She was worried Jeremy would hunt her down using GPS technology. Although she had no idea what was going on with the Holdens, she could probably guess it.The Holdens must have mobilized their entire household staff to look for her since she was carrying their bloodline. They would never allow their kin to be wander
Corinne put down her fork and rested her chin on her hand. "I'm actually quite surprised you turned out cheerful and optimistic."Jason smiled. "Cheerful and optimistic? I guess. But you should know there's a lot of pressure that comes with being a successor. The training was so harsh that I didn't even get to enjoy my childhood. Not to mention, everyone treats me like I'm nothing just because I'm not the biological son. It was hard to make friends in the wealthy circle. When I first took over the company, the directors in the company were so angry that they couldn't wait for me to fail."Corinne nodded sympathetically. "I can imagine how hard it must've been for you back then. But aren't you glad you pushed through 'cause everyone has to bow to you now?"Jason smiled wryly. "They only do that to my face, but when my back is turned, they'll talk sh*t about me. Even Jeremy, Zeke, and Gerald think I'm beneath them. The only person in the world who treats me like an equal is Lucas."C
Jeremy drove to Aaron's home, or more accurately, the home of Aaron, Xante, and Corinne. After getting out of the elevator, he persistently rang the doorbell. When nobody came to the door, he started to pound on the door angrily.It was a good thing there was only one unit of apartment on each floor, or someone would have complained about the noise. After a while, the door finally opened under Jeremy's persistent pounding.Aaron, dressed in his pajamas, scratched his head sleepily. "Mister Jeremy, what are you doing here so late?"Jeremy was seething with anger. "Where's Corinne? Ask her to come out this instant!"Aaron shrugged and spread his hand nonchalantly. "Mister Jeremy, your men had already checked my car and found nothing. I don't get why you're asking me where Corinne is. I should be the one asking you where she is."Jeremy ignored what he said, pushed him to the side, and strode impatiently into the living room."Corinne Carew, get your *ss out here this instant!"Aar
Aaron was telling the truth; he genuinely did not know where Corinne was hiding. To avoid Jeremy finding her, Corinne forbade them to call her on the phone she was using then.Jeremy said nothing as Corinne's original phone was with him. Before he went to Molomia, he programmed the phone to only be able to receive calls from him and other emergency numbers.He could sense Corinne was plotting her escape, which was why he dispatched more bodyguards to keep an eye on her. He thought that by keeping her under house arrest, he would have all the time in the world to solve the problems between them after he came back from Molomia. Thus, he was understandably shocked when he received news of Corinne's escape.Jeremy did not mean to make life difficult for Aaron. Thus, after looking around once more to confirm Corinne was not in the area, he said coldly, "Call me the moment you have news of her."Aaron wanted to curse at him but ultimately chose to cooperate with him to avoid suspicion. "
Sherman could not help but feel fearful when he recalled the incident.Rita gently smoothed his furrowed brow. "I knew you'd come to rescue me, just like all the times you did. I love you, Sherman."Previously, Rita confessed her love to him when she was groggy. At this moment, however, she was clearly awake, even sporting a faint smile on her face as she confessed.Sherman immediately blushed. "I love you, too."Rita did not stay long in the hospital; she quickly returned to the Parr family's mansion. Just as Sherman's grandparents had said, Rita did not have any major injuries, so there was no need for her to stay in the hospital that long. In fact, she might even recover faster emotionally under the care at home.Not once did Sherman bring up Rita's job, but she surprisingly resigned from New Capital Times on her own accord. It would be difficult for her to investigate cases with her current condition; not to mention Sherman had handed over the evidence to the police. The polic
"Sherman, I like you. I love you," Rita finally confessed.Sherman, deeply pained, pulled Rita into his arms. "This is all my fault. I should've looked for you quicker. I've never blamed you. All I want is to see you smile. It's enough for me as long as you're willing to let me stay by your side."You don't have to confess to me. I know it's hard for you to do that because of your family. I've seen the way they've treated you, and…"The bodyguards who had barged in with Sherman felt a bit awkward to see their company president in tears. However, the priority was to get Rita to the hospital for a check-up. Being tied up for hours could cause circulation issues, and it could be dangerous if her limbs did not regain feelings soon.In the end, they got the bravest among them to convince Sherman to let them take Rita to the hospital. Instead of letting them do it, Sherman wiped away his tears and, with ease, lifted Rita as if she was as light as a feather.Fortunately, after the hospit
With that, Karen left without looking back. She was carrying Vince's baby in her womb, so how could she pin all her hopes on Sadie? Since Sadie was obviously unruly, she would have to rely on her son.'Sadie can spend the rest of her life with Esmond since she likes him so much. God knows it had been exhausting enough to raise her. Plus, it's only fair for Esmond to take care of her since I've done my part taking care of her until now,' thought Karen.Meanwhile, the only consolation for Sherman was that Esmond did not try to put up a fight. It seemed that he still cared about his daughter Sadie.Sherman led his men to a dilapidated house. Esmond had been cautious enough to choose a rundown house situated at the end of a village.When Sherman barged in, he found Rita lying on the floor while Esmond's men ignored her. Esmond's men had followed his orders, and since he did not instruct them to do anything to Rita, they left her well alone.Before the men could react, they were surrou
Karen cried and silently knelt by Sadie's side without trying to defend herself. Sadie, on the other hand, feebly tried to explain herself. Alas. Vince refused to listen.There had been many occasions before when he had chosen to believe Karen and Sadie, but at this moment, he realized he had been terribly wrong to do that.Rita used to be so kind, understanding, and well-behaved. However, ever since Karen and Sadie moved in, Vince felt like his daughter had become manipulative, always trying to compete for attention, and stirring up jealousy in front of him.Unfortunately, it took Rita's disappearance to make Vince realize that Rita was not trying to compete for attention. All Rita wanted from him was to treat her the same as Sadie.Vince used to think that Rita should give in to Sadie more since Sadie was younger, too."Why don't you go live with your biological father since you prefer him so much? I never want to see you show your face around here anymore! As for your mother, s
Sadie was so anxious that she wanted to jump out. "Mom, don't tell me you fell for it! Why did you call Esmond? Now they all know where Rita is. You've ruined everything, again! What were you thinking?"Karen could not care less. She cried and slapped Sadie. "You nearly scared me to death! What would I do if something happened to you? I didn't raise you just to watch you die. I told you not to meet up with Esmond, so why did you secretly meet up with him? How can you ask him to get rid of Rita?"Are you out of your mind? All I want is for us to live out the rest of our lives peacefully, so why didn't you listen to me?!"Sadie was furious. Karen had stopped trying to get rid of Rita ever since she got pregnant, so how could Sadie not be angry? Rita was like a thorn in her side, and Sadie would never be happy unless Rita was dead."Don't you know I like Sherman? How could you ask me to do nothing when Rita has stolen him from me?! I was the one who liked him first. It's either Rita g
Karen wanted so badly to slap Esmond through the phone.'What good are his pompous words now? We wouldn't be in this mess now if he hadn't hit me back then! What's more, he's saying he's doing this for Sadie. But has he ever thought of what would happen to me and Sadie if he got rid of Rita? Rita's the heiress of the Russell family. Not to mention, she's married to Sherman, so that makes her owner of Parr Group too! What makes Esmond think he can get rid of Rita so easily?'Karen's breath was ragged as she said, "If you don't believe me, just listen to your daughter's screams. I can't save her now; you will literally decide her fate! Plus, I'm pregnant with Vince's baby, so even if I lose Sadie, I still have a kid—which is more than what I can say about you!"Sherman could not help but be impressed by Karen a little. Even in this dire situation, she did not forget to express her heartfelt feelings to Vince, letting him know that she was always on his side. It was certainly not an ea
"Sherman raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's just a minor injury, maybe just a finger. There shouldn't be any major issues. A sprained joint takes only a hundred days to heal, and it might take her even less time to heal if you take very good care of her while she's recuperating."Karen's heart ached upon hearing that. She lunged toward Sherman, wanting to hit him, but the bodyguards stopped her before she could get close.Vince, still worried, held Karen tightly beside him. "Calm down. I'm sure Sadie will come out unharmed if Rita's kidnapping has nothing to do with her. But if it does, then you should know very well that…"Vince's voice dropped an octave. He could not believe his daughter's disappearance had anything to do with his stepdaughter. However, he was not utterly naive.He continued, "How could a girl like her take Rita away? Even the car window was smashed. Others must've been involved. Does her biological father have anything to do with it?"Sherman nodded
"Yes, it's true I met up with my biological father, but it was just a one-time thing. I don't want to go back to him at all! Otherwise, I would've done it ages ago. Dad, I'm really grateful to you for taking me in and looking after me all these years. That's why I feel like you're my real father, even more real than those who share the same blood."How could you unjustly accuse me and Mom like that? Sherman is the one spouting nonsense here. He's trying to push all the blame onto us. Dad, you have to wake up and see the truth!"Karen nodded along, but her heart was racing. 'When did Sadie meet Esmond? How did Sherman know when I don't even know? Seems like Sadie does have something to do with Rita's kidnapping. I have to settle things and get Sherman out of here.'Karen never had the thought of rekindling her relationship with Esmond. The only thing she wanted then was to peacefully give birth to her son. Everything in the Russell family would eventually go to her son, and she would
Sherman detested people pointing their fingers at him when they spoke. He stood up slowly, towering over Vince instantly."You claim to be Rita's father, yet if I were you, I'd choose to shut up and stand aside. I can't believe you're scolding me for threatening Sadie when she's not even your real daughter!"Look at her guilty expression; it's clear she's involved. If you don't believe me, use your brain a little. No wonder Russell Group is declining under your leadership. It's only a matter of time before the company goes completely bankrupt!"Sherman showed no mercy, causing Vince to retreat with every word. Vince clutched his chest, struggling for breath.Karen, despite her weakness, stepped forward to support him. "How could you speak to your father-in-law like this? What has Sadie done to offend you? She has nothing but admiration for you. Plus, she's just a child. How could you treat her like this?"She went on and on, but Sherman stood his ground. Meanwhile, the burly bodyg