Lucas' face softened when he saw Anya's eyes reddening. He reached out to wipe away the tears that were about to fall from the corners of her eyes and said, "There, there. Don't cry, Anya. I was just asking..."Anya sniffled sadly. "But your tone says otherwise. You sounded so mean…"Lucas sighed with resignation. Then, he continued to patiently explain to her, "Anya, that phone has never left the drawer in my study, but now, there's an edited version of the video posted online to slander Corinne, resulting in a public uproar."I was just going through a standard procedure of making sure no one in our family is the culprit before letting Edmund question the other staff in the household."Do you now understand? And you should know that, as your brother, I'll always trust you a hundred percent, okay?"Anya wiped away her tears and nodded like a little girl. "Okay. If this is the case, it's totally understandable that you'll suspect me, since I'm the only one in this house who has to
While Edmund was on his way to get him, Sunny was spending his time feeling distressed about being kicked out of the deep web by his master, Jade Rabbit. He wanted to access the deep web again but could not, no matter how he tried, because Jade Rabbit had locked up his ID for 48 hours.'Why?!' He banged the keyboard in frustration. He had no choice but to go to VeeTube and other web pages to check the latest development of 'Corinne the scammer incident'.'It's a good thing the cyberbullying post and the videos are all gone. This way, at least, the matter won't spread further, making it worse,' thought Lucas. 'Next, I have to find a way to help Corinne clear up her name. Otherwise, she won't be able to move freely in public places. The angry mob will definitely chase after her if she's recognized… Should I ask Lucas for help?'However, Sunny knew that Lucas was famed for his cold-heartedness and that he would not waste his time on anyone other than himself or other members of the Riv
Sunny quickly took the phone out of the drawer. Then, he plugged one end of the data cable into the phone and the other into Lucas' computer before plugging in his flash drive. He did all of that very swiftly, but just when he was about to copy the video into his flash drive…"What are you doing?" asked Lucas coldly, appearing in the room.Sunny immediately froze in place. He stiffly raised his head and said, "Lucas… I was…was just looking up some information on the computer…"Lucas narrowed his eyes. "Why would you use my computer instead of yours?"Sunny started to panic even more. "Umm… I… I suddenly remembered I missed out on some information when I came in here, and I was worried that I'll forget again if I didn't look it up now, so I thought I could just use your computer…"While he spoke, Sunny had sneakily unplugged the data cable and put the female influencer's phone into his pocket.Lucas' expression remained unchanged. He easily saw through what Sunny did. He took a st
Lucas' expression darkened. He slammed the female influencer's phone loudly on the table and glared vehemently at Sunny."Instead of studying like I told you to do, you spent all your time on that hacker league of yours. Did you really think no one will ever find out about what you did just because you think you have a few tricks up your sleeves? At least clean up all your traces if you want to pull shady stunts like this," mocked Lucas.Sunny was starting to tear up. He forced back his tears and said, "Lucas, it's true that I've joined a hacker league, but I swear to god, I have nothing to do with that video. I have no reasons to hurt her.""How dare you still deny it when we've caught you red-handed?""I'm not denying it. I really didn't do it."Lucas was getting fed up. "Edmund, lock him up in his room, and make sure he doesn't get anything to eat until he has admitted his crime."Edmund hesitated for a second, but he did not dare to defy Lucas' order. "Yes, Mister Lucas."Su
Late at night, Anya secretly snuck in some food for Sunny.The two bodyguards standing guard at Sunny's door hesitated to let her in but in the end thought they might as well. They knew Lucas had always given Anya whatever her heart desired. Therefore, even if Lucas was there himself, he would have let her in too.Besides, they did not want to risk incurring Lucas' wrath. What if Anya went to tell on them? Therefore, the safest option for them to take was to simply let her in.When Anya went in, Sunny was lying face down on the bed and crying his heart out."Sunny? Sunny, get up. You'll suffocate like that."Sunny was startled to hear Anya's voice. He immediately sat up straight and wiped away the tears from his eyes. Then, he turned around to face her and said tearfully, "Anya, what are you doing here? How come you're not asleep?""I can't sleep 'cause I'm so worried about you, so I thought why not drop in for a visit." Anya pulled some tissues out from the box and walked over t
Sunny's resolve was starting to shake. He would do anything for Anya, but…"But Anya, I think Jeremy and Corinne are—"Anya must have guessed what he was going to say, and she did not want him to continue, so she cut him off gently, "I know that Jeremy treats Corinne very well, but it's not like he can just ignore her. She's his wife after all, and I'm sure he's just putting up a show for the elders in his family. Besides, he's a responsible man. Even if he has no feelings for Corinne, he'd still make sure she's well taken care of."Sunny frowned and said, "No, that wasn't what I was going to say. I really think Jeremy treats Corinne differently. In fact, I think he treats her better than…"Anya cut him off again. "As I said, they're acting all lovey-dovey toward each other because they don't want the elders in the Holden family to know that everything is fake. He's only being nice, protective, and gentle to her on the surface. It's all for the sake of his own family's reputation,
Jeremy put up his hand to stop him. "There's no need. From now on, whenever she locks the door, no one is allowed to open the door with the spare key. This is, of course, except when her safety is called into question.""Yes…Mister Jeremy," replied Bowen, a little stunned.This was completely different from Jeremy's initial attitude. Previously, he would unhappily ask the servants to open the door with the spare key whenever Corinne locked her door. No one was allowed to lock the door to his bedroom, let alone locked him out of his bedroom. Bowen had never seen this submissive side of Jeremy.Jeremy stopped knocking and fished out his phone to call Corinne. The phone rang for a while before she finally answered."What?!" said Corinne sleepily and angrily. It was obvious she was not happy being woken up."Get up. It's time for breakfast," said Jeremy.Corinne had stayed up the whole night to do her drawings and did not sleep until the early morning. Therefore, she was in no mood t
"Lucas had ordered his men to teach her a lesson after finding out what she did to his grandfather at the embankment of Yonder River. Apart from that, her live-stream account had been indefinitely restricted by the platform, so she could no longer do any live-stream. Thus, with no way to make a living, she went back to her hometown."Jeremy gave no comment and continued to eat his breakfast slowly.There, Tommy continued his report, "The female influencer said that she was afraid that her family's job would be affected since she knew she had crossed someone she shouldn't have. That's why she has been lying low in the countryside for the past few days."She also said that she wasn't the one who posted the video that slandered Ma'am and that someone must've hacked into her VeeTube account. She'd been warned not to tell anyone that she had met Grandfather Rivera on the embankment of Yonder River or the fact that she had been taught a lesson by the River family."Her phone was confisca
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