"Come in," Melody answered."Ma'am, several police officers have shown up. They're asking to see you. Would you like to go down and greet them or?"Melody placed the teacup down and realized that the crew must have decided to get the police involved, which she was fine with. After all, she could then leave the investigation to the police once she gave them her statement. She was certain that they would clear her name.The officers led Melody away as soon as she came down, which startled Beatrice and made her wonder if something bad had happened again. The officers' sudden appearance seemed to have come out of nowhere."You don't need to make the trip to the station with me. I haven't committed any crime. They're just going to record my statement according to the procedure."Beatrice was more relieved when she heard the explanation, but she asked anyway, "Can you at least tell us what happened? This sort of stress is a little too much for me to handle."Melody smiled reassuringly
The police officer stopped writing for a moment and glanced up at Melody, who was trying her best to remember what happened."Is that so? As far as we know, other people don't seem to think that's the case. Every other member of the crew seems to think that you did that to Stella because you are worried that her popularity might surpass you as the trends seem to indicate."Melody smiled sarcastically. "That's their problem. How does that prove that I have such an intention? I'm a newbie, and there are tons of people in the industry more popular than I am. Do you think I'd be in a proper mindset to do my job if that bothered me so much? Investigations don't rely solely on speculation, do they?"The police officer agreed with her reasoning and nodded. The remaining questions were relatively routine, and Melody answered them truthfully."That's all for now. You may head home. We'll inform you once we have our findings."Once that was over, Melody was stopped by one of the police offi
'What kind of expression would he have if he noticed me?' Melody wondered. In the end, he did not even care to look at her and felt just like a random stranger in the crowd—a mere foil to the true star of the show.Melody raised her feet and left silently, knowing she would only feel more and more frustrated if she continued to look at them.Melody returned home with a heavy heart, and she could not control her emotions well. Beatrice immediately noticed that Melody was in a bad mood."What's wrong, Melody? Did the police officers bully you?" Beatrice's dry and slightly rough hands caressed Melody's cheek.She watched Melody squeeze out a stiff smile and said, "I'm fine. Nothing serious happened.""Come on now, Melody. Even that old man can tell that you're not in a good mood. Tell us what happened. You're still young, and you shouldn't keep everything in your heart. We're your family, after all. You can talk to us."Melody nodded vigorously. She was afraid that Beatrice's kindne
Cedric raised an eyebrow and said, "How dare those people hatch such a devious plot against you when you've Lucas accompanied you to the set? That is utterly disrespectful! I'll pay them a visit with your Grandma and show them what happens if they mess with the Riveras!"Cedric was becoming more animated as he spoke, to the point where the old lady had to glare at him."We don't live in a lawless society, you know. Are you planning on threatening the crew members? Can't you use your brain for once? What were you hoping to achieve by instilling fear?"What's more important is for Melody to win the crew's hearts and have them believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that Melody would never do something like that if it happens again."Beatrice's reasoning was spot-on, and Melody took the opportunity to tell them about her thoughts. "No one believed me when it happened, and Lucas said that the minority who do will never go against the pressure of the majority. But that's what makes me sad. H
Lucas waved his hand to indicate that he did not need the menu and simply said, "I'll have whatever she's having."Stella was delighted to hear that and quickly halted the wait staff. "No celery for his serving, please. He's not fond of celery."The wait staff nodded and noted, "So that'll be two servings of pasta—one as is and the other without celery."Stella's smile grew even wider when the wait staff treated them as a couple going for lunch. It was not until she was comfortable in her chair that she finally came to the shocking realization that Lucas had taken the initiative to invite her to lunch!She believed that he had already fallen for her charm. Even the coldest of men would not resist her allure if she decided to woo them."What made you decide to ask me out to lunch today?" Stella blushed and lowered her head. She avoided looking at Lucas and portrayed a shy demeanor.Lucas remained expressionless. He tapped his fingertips on the table as if to try and phrase his sen
Stella sighed as if she was expressing her concern for those celebrities who were obsessed with the spotlight. "Actresses should focus on honing our acting skills and ensuring the quality of our performance. Some people are led down the wrong path though."Encouraged by Lucas's nodding, Stella went on, "After taking care of something this morning and coming back to the set, I discovered that someone had placed thumbtacks in the shoes of our second female lead! She suffered an injury, but it was a good thing that she managed to pull her feet out before stepping on them completely."She could've been crippled if her tendons were damaged! Whoever did this had an ulterior motive, don't you think?""A vicious person, indeed," Lucas replied curtly. As he uttered that word, he raised his head and glanced intently at Stella. A faint smile appeared on her face, for she failed to notice the deeper meaning in his gaze.She then said, "You're right. She is vicious. I hope you won't get angry w
Lucas grunted and said nothing more.Meanwhile, Stella relished her meal. When they had finished eating, Stella was already mentally prepared to part ways with Lucas, but to her surprise, he offered to take her home."Are you sure? Don't you have company matters to handle?" Stella asked, blushing.Lucas nodded. "They're not urgent. I have some time to see you off.""Okay." Stella lowered her head shyly and put on a coquettish act by tucking a strand of hair behind her ears.Lucas, however, ignored her and got in the driver's seat. His coldness left Stella a bit disheartened, but she quickly snapped herself out of it. "It's fine. I have all night."Since he had offered to send her home, she needed to seize the opportunity to get intimate with him. As they say, 'best to strike while the iron is hot.'When Stella arrived at her doorstep, she was just about to invite Lucas in when he himself said he would like to relax at her home for a moment. Stella was over the moon at how smooth
Lucas pointed at Stella's cheek but made no attempts to wipe it for her.Stella reluctantly allowed him to stay in the room while she excused herself to the bathroom."Wait here. I'll make some coffee for us once I'm done!" Stella announced as she headed to the kitchen.Lucas nodded and bided his time until Stella left the room. He began searching as soon as he was done. Time was of the essence, and he had earlier deduced that the closet seemed to be the most likely place for Stella to hide the evidence.Stella had gone off to check her makeup and see if there were any black marks present. She looked at the makeup on her cheek and thought that perhaps Lucas misunderstood the markings as some dust. Determined to make Lucas hers for the night, she took out her cosmetics and reapplied them.Aside from the closet, he realized that Stella had a whole room dedicated to her wardrobe. Tucked away in a corner among all the branded luxury clothes that she had were the clothes Melody had wor
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