It took a long time for Oliver to get this job. Plus, the temptation of 15,000 dollars was just too much so he agreed to carry out Anya's plan in the end.However, when it came time to do it, he could not. He struggled with the thought of doing it when he saw the innocent and cute Joey and this caused him to accidentally trip, sending the bowl of soup flying into the air. Scared, he immediately ran out of the room.'It was a good thing Miss Corinne managed to touch the tip of the bowl or else that kid would have been burned even more badly,' thought Oliver. 'I might as well tell the truth since this is even more serious than stealing the customer's phone.'Lucas noticed Oliver and Anya communicating through their eyes. He frowned and ordered, "Don't look at her! Tell me the truth. What did she say to you when the two of you were standing in front of the restroom?"Oliver was frightened by the threatening aura being emitted by Lucas. This and his guilty conscience made him dare not
Lucas looked down at the sobbing Anya without a hint of emotion on his face and unlike previously, he did not pat her on the back nor did he try to comfort her with words. At that moment, she was as good as a stranger to him.Corinne chuckled at how Anya was still trying to keep up her theatrics."Miss Anya, Oliver couldn't produce any chat history or wire transfer record either when he was accusing me but that didn't stop you from advising me to come clean or to give up the struggle. So don't you think you're a hypocrite for saying he's lying now that the finger is pointed at you?"Anya leaned pitifully against Lucas and said, "I'm not a hypocrite 'cause I'm different from you. I'm Joey's mom and as his mom, I would never bribe someone to hurt him. Corinne, just how much do you hate me for you to concoct such an evil plan to frame me?"Even up till then, Anya was still trying to play the victim though Corinne was not surprised because she knew it would be impossible to hope that s
Lucas pushed away Anya emotionlessly.This was the first time he ever pushed her away so she started to panic."Lucas, what's the matter with you?"Lucas coldly threw the phone at her and said, "See for yourself!"Anya caught the phone and all the colors immediately drained out of her face when she saw the content. 'How is this possible? How did she recover the chat history?'"No! Lucas, this must be fake! I didn't send anything like that! I didn't! It must be fake! You can't possibly believe I'd do something like that."Even with the conclusive evidence staring her right in the face, Anya still insisted that it was fake. However, how could it be fake when the conversation was not screenshots? It was as real as it gets.Lucas looked at the hysterical and unrepentant Anya and thought how unlike she was from her previous gentle and kind character. Suddenly, a smear of disgust appeared in his eyes. 'When did she become like this?'Corinne yawned lazily, looked at Anya, and said to
Corinne nodded without hesitation."Yes. Since your sister has pretended to pass out, and we all know it's impossible to wake up a person who's pretending to pass out, you need to apologize on her behalf as well!"Lucas was speechless. No one ever so brazenly asked him to apologize to them before.At that moment, Jeremy — who was sitting not far away smoking a cigarette — smirked. He narrowed his eyes slightly in both admiration and sarcasm as he watched Corinne trying to extract an apology out of Lucas.'She's still as spunky as ever. No matter where she is or who she is going up against, she never backs down from a fight to uphold justice for herself and others. Lucas has certainly met his match this time,' thought Jeremy.He puffed out some smoke rings. The more he admired Corinne, the more unhappy he became. This was because it was the same spunkiness that made her ignore his feelings and run away without telling him to get married to another man.At that moment, looking at C
The dashing Jason, however, was leaning gracefully against his car. He crooked his finger at Corinne and said, "Come here, Corinne. I'll give you a ride home."Corinne was speechless. 'Who the h*ll do these two men think they are? Car models? Anyway, what is Jeremy still doing here? Didn't he go to the hospital to check on his baby mommy?'An impatient frown appeared on Jeremy's face when he saw Corinne taking her sweet time making her decision. With darkening eyes, he said coldly, "Come over here, Corinne!"Jason was not going to let him win. He beamed an alluring smile at Corinne and said, "Choose me, Corinne. I have chocolate in the car for you."Corinne was once again speechless. The passersby kept looking at them and some of them even stopped what they were doing to watch how the drama of two guys fighting over a girl would unfold.Faced with the choice of two high-quality guys, who would the girl choose?Corinne raised her eyebrow. She first looked at the man on the left, a
"Yes, it's her. She looks exactly like the woman in the photo Sir sent. Tie her up!""But, boss! This girl looks quite pretty. It's it such a pity to kill her right away?""You just can't keep it in your pants when you see a woman!""Haha. I'm telling the truth! She's a beautiful young woman. She might even be an innocent girl. It's simply too wasteful to just kill her straight away!""Forget it. It's Sir who personally ordered to get rid of this woman this time, so we must do it efficiently with no frills. There's no time for you to mess around!"After Corinne's head was covered with a sack, her arms were twisted to her back by an incredibly strong man and were tied tightly with a rope.Facing such a situation, she did not put up a strong resistance. She just asked very calmly, "Hold on. Did you guys get the wrong person?"It was the man who was addressed as the boss who asked her, "Aren't you Corinne Carew? You're the one. We didn't get the wrong person. You're the one we're l
Jeremy looked down at her, staring coldly. "I asked you to leave when we were at the hospital, but you didn't. I asked you to get into my car at the entrance of the restaurant, but you refused. I saved you, yet you repaid my kindness by being ungrateful and trying to hit me? I think you might only learn to be careful if you were killed by those people just now!""Who says I was being ungrateful? I didn't know it was you who came just now!" Corrine frowned as she suddenly realized something was wrong. "Hold on. What do you mean? You seem to have long known someone wanted to attack me."Jeremy's silence implied that he admitted it. It seemed like he did not wish to bother telling her too much. He just turned around and walked out of the narrow alley.Corinne did not get an answer, so she quickly caught up to him and asked again, "Do you know who's the Sir those people spoke about?""Mm-hmm." Jeremy lowered his head to lit a cigarette and hummed indifferently without looking at her at
As Jeremy closed in on her, Corinne's bright eyes shifted awkwardly. "Because I hate the smell of cigarettes!"Jeremy frowned, bending over to lean closer toward her. He exhaled a puff of smoke above her head as if he was bullying her, then said with a slightly mocking tone, "If you hate the smell of cigarettes, stay away from me."Upon saying that, he put out his cigarette by rubbing it against the wall behind Corinne, then he threw it into the trash can in front of him, hitting a bullseye.Corinne hugged the wall as she walked, to begin with, so after Jeremy stopped her and closed in on her, she leaned back until there was no way she could retreat anymore.At that moment, Corinne was almost completely in the man's arms with her back against the wall and his arm above her head. She frowned, exhibiting resistance, and glared at the man unhappily, "How am I supposed to stay away from you with you being like this? Please move, Mister Jeremy, and I'll certainly stay away from you!"T
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