The Riveras.A servant entered respectfully and reported, "Mister Lucas, Miss Anya, Mister Jeremy of the Holdens have arrived!"Anya, feeling helpless due to Joey's disappearance, leaned against Lucas's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. When she heard that Jeremy came, she regained some spirit and sat up straight, looking toward the entrance.Sure enough, the tall and slender figure of Jeremy walked into the living room of the Riveras. Unfortunately, he was not alone. He was accompanied by Corinne, who he held gently by the hand.Anya's eyes, which just lit up, froze for a second. Her face turned gloomy, and she clenched her fists tightly. At the same time, her crying grew louder.Lucas, who also saw Jeremy leading Corinne toward them, wore an extremely displeased expression in his eyes, with a cold face and furrowed brows.At a time like this, Jeremy brought that woman, Corinne, along. Wasn't it enough for Anya to suffer such a blow?Jeremy led Corinne to stand in front of the Riv
Jeremy remained silent. Years ago, to save his life, Anya selflessly extracted the snake venom from her own body, forever sacrificing her ability to become a mother. This was a debt he would always owe to the girl, and he could not fulfill Anya's emotional needs. Therefore, when Lucas accused him in such a way, he had no words to respond.Corinne raised an eyebrow and said, "Mister Lucas, if you truly care about your sister, it is more important to help her find her beloved son than to focus on competing with me for a man's heart here!"Lucas glared at Jeremy, his gaze turning cold as he looked at the eloquent Corinne, filled with disgust and anger. It was all because of her! Anya was tormented back and forth by this little girl Corinne, to the point where she was on the verge of a breakdown. He wished he could strangle her!At that moment, several household servants gasped for breath as they returned from somewhere within the estate to report."Mister Lucas, we've searched everywh
She leaned lazily on the sofa in the Riveras's living room, yawning idly, and looked around the surroundings with boredom. Is this the Riveras? It used to be the place where she was born. Huh, she has no impression of this place at all!"Corinne, can we talk privately?" Anya suddenly spoke to her.Corinne was not interested in falling into her trap. "No need for privacy. I'm too lazy to move. Just say it here! This is your home, and I'm not afraid. What are you afraid of?"Anya could not persuade her, gritted her teeth, and said, "Corinne, I have underestimated you before, but I won't give up just like that!"Corinne did not want to engage in discussions about winning or losing with her. She could not care less about competing with someone like Anya.However, there was one question she wanted to ask Anya."Miss Anya, there's no one else here. Tell me the truth! Did you lose the child, or are you faking it?"Using that innocent child to entangle Jeremy was Anya's usual tactic. Co
Corinne wanted to ask the maid who just brought the coffee whether it was the blood from the chickens and ducks slaughtered by the kitchen staff. But when she looked up, she realized that the maid already walked away, and no other servants were waiting around. Corinne furrowed her brows in confusion, thinking about the pitiful child who was always manipulated by Anya. Could Anya have harmed that child again?With this thought in mind, she stood up and followed the direction the maid went.Corinne followed the maid until they reached the main kitchen of the Riveras. However, no servants were bustling about in the kitchen. The countertops were cleaned spotlessly, and there was no trace of any poultry being slaughtered.If the blood on the coffee cup was not from a fowl, could it be human blood? Could it belong to that child?What was even more peculiar was that the maid who entered ahead of them was now nowhere to be found, even though Corinne saw her enter first.Corinne became inc
"I want to save my son, my precious little one! Corinne, please help me, help me break open that door together!" Anya exclaimed, raising the chisel in her hand in excitement.Corinne watched Anya's distressed and desperate state, squinting her eyes, feeling skeptical. At this moment, Anya did indeed seem different from her previous acts. It did not seem like she was pretending.If what Anya said was true, there might be a man inside that utility room who possibly took her child hostage.Could it be a burglary? The thief was discovered by the child and, fearing the child's cries would alert the adults in the house, resorted to harming the child to silence them.Considering this, with the safety of the child at stake, Corinne temporarily set aside her biased perspective of Anya and calmly advised her:"Don't act rashly for now. Even if we break open the door, it won't solve the problem if someone is holding your son, hostage. It might even provoke the person to take extreme measur
Anya fell to her knees with a thud, holding her lifeless child, unable to contain her sobs."Joey, my Joey, wake up! Open your eyes and look at Mommy! Mommy is sorry, Mommy came too late! Joey, sob, sob!"As a pregnant expectant mother, Corinne could not help but feel a pang in her heart witnessing the separation of mother and child. At the same time, she remained cautious, raising her eyes to observe her surroundings, wary of whether there were others in the miscellaneous room.Anya's screams quickly drew the attention of many people."Anya, what happened?"Lucas hurriedly ran in and his face turned solemn upon seeing the scene.Anya continued to sob while holding the child, on the verge of collapse as if her breath was about to give out. "Brother! Joey, he has stopped breathing, sob, sob!"Lucas quickly squatted down and reached out to feel the child's breath, but there was no sign of life. His hand trembled slightly, he closed his eyes in grief and took a deep breath.Jeremy
As she spoke, Anya withdrew her hand, which was holding the back of Joey's head, and showed the blood on her hand to everyone. "I saw it with my own eyes. You used that thing in your hand to hit my little Bao's head! He's still so young, how could you do such a thing!"Following Anya's lead, everyone's gaze turned towards Corinne, who was still holding the chisel in her hand, further confirming their belief that she was the murderer!Faced with glares from everyone, Corinne lowered her head and looked at the chisel that Anya forcefully handed her. She understood.This was a trap, a carefully designed set-up!It started from the moment Anya invited her to talk a step into the living room just now.However, she did not fall into the trap at first. Anya then sent another maid, who deliberately used a bloodstained coffee cup to lead her to this meticulously designed 'crime scene'.One could only say that Anya's acting skills were truly outstanding!The way Anya showed concern for th
Corinne raised her gaze calmly. "I'm innocent, why should I admit to anything?"Lucas narrowed his eyes darkly. "If it wasn't you, then why were you holding the murder weapon?"Corinne lifted the chisel in her hand. "Are you talking about this? Miss Anya forcefully gave it to me, saying it was for self-defense!"Lucas found her unreasonable. "Corinne, don't you find these words you're saying laughable?"Corinne's expression remained calm. "I'm speaking the truth. If you find the truth laughable, then it's your problem, Mister Lucas."Lucas's face darkened, believing that her current attitude was not only an attempt to escape blame but also a challenge to their family's authority."Corinne, I'll give you another chance to confess. I can still let you bear the consequences of your actions. Otherwise, I'll make your whole family pay!"Corinne looked at him unperturbed, feeling a tinge of irony and amusement in her heart.Make her whole family pay?Does this so-called 'whole famil
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