Zachary said, "I want you to introduce me to a professional rehabilitation doctor. I need help on how to correctly exercise my legs so I can stand up again. Over the years, I've been suspecting Sophia of using drugs to stop me from recovering. Every single doctor she sent would mislead me and teach me the wrong way rehabilitation techniques. As much as I tried to spit out the medicine she gave, I still showed no signs of improvement. I'll discuss the emotional entanglement with your sister after I can stand up on my own again."The request was within reason one, so Lucas nodded. "I can do that, but will Sophia allow you to accept the doctor's guidance?"Zachary replied, "Online will do. Sophia would never allow me to contact outsiders. Here's my email address. Get a hacker to bypass all security measures and send me the doctor's contact information. Sophia keeps close tabs on my cell phone and other means of contact. She doesn't allow me to be in touch with anyone."Lucas suddenly r
Lucas frowned in contemplation, knowing that Jeremy's words made perfect sense. Taking Bryan away would leave him with no child, and it would be difficult to explain everything to Sophia when she returned. However, he did not feel comfortable leaving Bryan with the scheming Sophia.Bryan seemed to understand Lucas' concerns and tugged on the man's clothes. "I've been with this handsome uncle for several days now. I'll be fine! Don't tell Mommy about this, okay? I don't want her to worry."Lucas massaged his temples, feeling as though he had little choice in the matter.He finally understood why Corinne complained about the strange behavior that 'Bryan' had been displaying lately. It was because the two children had been switched! He had to admit that it all seemed incredibly coincidental.Lucas looked at Zachary with a stern warning, "Take good care of him, or you won't hear the end of it from me!"Zachary nodded calmly. "Please make sure that Miss Corinne takes good care of my so
Sunny then said anxiously, "Wait, Corinne! That's not why I'm calling! Something urgent popped up!"Corinne was typing on the keyboard as she asked, "What is it? I'm busy right now."Sunny continued, "It's about Lucas. I have reason to think that he got himself into a mess."Earlier that day, Corinne felt that Sunny's character had matured. Alas, his phone call made her assume he reverted to his impulsive ways. "You should discuss this with the elders in your family, not me! I'm busy with work, so if there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."Sunny pressed on, "Please don't hang up! I can't let our elders know about this, Corinne! With your help, we can figure out a plan to set Lucas back on the right path."Corinne shot back irritatedly. "What happened to Lucas? Why are you so worried?""I happened to pass by the company at noon today," Sunny began, "and I saw Lucas driving out alone. Curiosity got the better of me, so I followed him and saw him check into a hotel. He chose a pres
Sunny looked at the woman and confirmed once again that the woman was Sophia. She headed to the room that Lucas entered earlier."Lucas is meeting Sophia?" Sunny muttered to himself. He was taken aback by the unexpected encounter.He ran back to the room and called Corinne. His tone was anxious as he said, "Corinne! You need to come here right now!"Corinne responded impatiently, "Just how long are you going to keep this up?"Sunny pleaded anxiously, "I'm not trying to make a fuss! Do you know who Lucas came to meet?"Corinne replied disinterestedly, "It's none of my concern."Desperate to keep her on the line, Sunny blurted, "It's Sophia! He's here with Sophia!"Corinne's fingers froze while she was typing. "What did you say?"Sunny was on the verge of tears after finally getting Corinne to pay attention. "I'll send you the address. Come over right now! We can't let that woman trick Lucas!"After a brief pause, Corinne said, "Fine. Text me the hotel address and room number."
Sunny was a man, so he did not have anything to be embarrassed about. It was Corinne that he was worried about, but it became apparent that his concerns were unnecessary because she did not seem to show any fear of embarrassment. He decided to follow Corinne and accompany her to the room next door. With Corinne around, he did not need to fear the possibility that Lucas might give him a good beating for confronting them.As they reached the door of the adjacent suite, they tried to eavesdrop on the situation within but could not sense anything odd. Corinne then raised her hand to knock on the door.Meanwhile, Edmund was closely monitoring the situation from the opposite suite when he saw Corinne and Sunny approaching the door. Their sudden presence startled him, and he needed to act swiftly as there was no time to seek further instruction from Lucas. As if by instinct, he opened the door and dragged the two persons in before closing the door shut.Corinne was caught off-guard when so
Corinne was relieved to hear the news."Then why did Sophia still ask you to meet her here?" she asked.A hint of guilt flashed across Lucas' eyes.How could he bear to tell her that the man she had been waiting for the past three years was in the suite opposite theirs and that he had forgotten about her? Not to mention, he was playing happy family with another woman and the baby he stole from her.He could not. It would be too cruel."Oh, it's nothing. She didn't really ask me to meet her here. I just happened to find out she's staying in this hotel too. Out of curiosity, I wanted to find out who she came back with, so I made up some excuse to meet her," lied Lucas.Corinne's eyes turned sharp. "Then did you see if there's anyone else in her suite?" she asked curiously.Lucas shook his head. "I only saw her with a kid wearing a cartoon mask. There was no one else."In truth, Lucas did not see Sophia at all because he was already back in his own suite by the time she got back.
Before they left the suite, Edmund peeked through the peephole to make sure no one was in the corridor before turning and nodding at Lucas.It was only then Lucas opened the door and he and Corinne walked out.Alas, the thing he feared the most happened nonetheless.At that moment, Sophia's door opened too, and she was wheeling Jeremy out while saying, "Zachary, I know you're bored with being cooped up in the hotel all day long, but I really have my hands full with Dad's business. So I can't take you out that often nor do I feel comfortable letting other people do it. But what I can do is take you to the garden in the hotel for some fresh air, and I promise I'll take you and Benjamin to travel round the world after everything is settled here."Corinne's face immediately froze when she saw the man in the wheelchair. 'It's him!' she thought with fury.Lucas quickly pulled Corinne back into the suite and slammed the door shut. He did it so fast that neither Sophia nor Jeremy saw anyt
"No!" Lucas' heart broke at seeing Corinne so mad and sad. "Corinne, he's not the Jeremy you knew before. He doesn't remember who you are at all. I was worried you couldn't take it…"'He doesn't remember me at all? Did he have a memory loss? Hah! How convenient of an excuse,' thought Corinne, displeased by the explanation.Sneering, she said, "The fact that you hid this information from me meant that you were working with him. I'll never believe you again."Corinne then turned to leave. She would unearth the truth by asking Jeremy himself about everything that happened.Lucas pulled her back and wrapped her up in a tight embrace."Corinne, you need to calm down first. Please…" he said while stroking her hair.Corinne's shoulders gradually relaxed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath."Why? Why is he with Sophia?" she asked.Seeing that Corinne had finally calmed down, Lucas decided to tell her the truth."Jeremy isn't with Sophia; she has him under her control. He doesn
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