Edmund looked at Anya's retreating figure in confusion. 'What's the matter with Miss Anya today? Where did the usual soft, caring, and kind girl go?'…Anya was beyond furious. Not only did Corinne steal the man she loved but also her brother who had always seen her as the apple of his eye! She could not, for the life of her, figure out why Lucas would respect Corinne so much.'I thought Lucas would always take my side since he hates Corinne so much…'Joey had just woken up and the nanny was feeding him some oatmeal when Anya reached his room. He immediately hid in the nanny's arms when he saw Anya come in.Anya was already in a bad mood, but seeing the trembling Joey in the nanny's arm worsened it. 'Why, that brat! What's the use of keeping him now?'She walked over and extended her hand to the nanny. "Give that bowl to me. I'll feed him. You can leave the room now."The nanny hesitated before placing the bowl in Anya's hand. She then plucked Joey from her arms and put him in t
The nanny heard Joey's cries from outside and rushed into his room to check on him."Miss Anya, what's going on? Did Mister Joey make you angry again? He's just a kid… He doesn't know any better. Won't you please forgive him?"Anya was raging. "What are you doing back in here? Didn't I ask you to go outside? How dare a lowly servant like you tell me what to do!"The nanny immediately hung her head low and said respectfully, "I'm sorry, Miss Anya. I didn't mean to…"In a fit of blind rage, Anya slapped her. "What didn't you mean to do? Barge in here? I put Joey in your care, and look at how he turned out now! The moment he sees me, he'll start crying as if I'm a monster. You must've taught him to do that."Covering her cheek with her hand, the nanny tried to explain, "No, Miss Anya. I didn't teach Mister Joey to do that. You're a first-time mother, so it's normal to lose patience sometimes… I'm sure he'll stop being afraid of you if you just show him a little more patience…"Anya
Lucas looked up, and his pupils shrank when he realized Joey was missing from his crib. "Where's Joey?"Anya looked at the crib, too. "Hey, you're right. Where is he? Did he run off with the nanny?"Lucas strode out of the room quickly and asked the servants stationed in the area whether they had seen Joey, but none of them did. He looked around the room once more and saw the balcony door was open. The balcony in that room was linked to all the other balconies on the same floor."He must've gone into the other rooms through the balcony. He shouldn't have gotten far. All of you, split up and look for him.""Yes, Mister Lucas!" said the servants.After that, he went down the stairs.Anya immediately chased after him. "Lucas, where are you going? Aren't you going to look for Joey with me?""I'm sure he's still in the house somewhere, so he should be fine. I need to go to the kitchen now.""Why?""We have an important guest in our house today, and to show our gratitude, I'm going
Anya's eyes lit up when her mother mentioned miscarriages.'She's right. We'll just have to sneak the saffron into Corinne's food at tonight's dinner and, boom! Her baby will be gone!'However, since all of her previous plans came to a fruitless end, she did not feel as confident as she did last time. "But what if someone finds out it's the saffron that caused her miscarriage?" she asked worriedly."Don't worry. I'll just say I did it should anyone find out about it. I can just pretend I didn't know Corinne was pregnant, and that's why I gave her some saffron to try," said Phoebe smugly.Knowing her mother had her back, Anya finally felt at ease."Okay, wait here, Mommy. I'll go get the saffron now. Try to put as much as you can in Corinne's food… I want to see her bleed out all the blood she has."…Meanwhile, in Luna's room.Corinne was resting on the small bed with her head against the headboard. She scanned every corner of the room to see if her memory could be jogged. Howe
However, Corinne had her reason for ending the call so quickly. She heard a noise outside her window, and she did not tell Jeremy because she did not want to worry him.After hanging up, she went to the window and peeked outside. "Is anyone there?"No one replied, which bewildered her as she was certain she heard something.She then looked down, and her pupils dilated when she saw a child hanging precariously from the balcony railing of the next room. He could have fallen!Although they were only on the second floor, it would still be dangerous for such a small child to fall from there."Don't move! It's dangerous!"Without thinking twice, Corinne immediately stepped over the balcony railing to save the child. After grabbing him, she stepped over the balcony railing again and brought him into the room.The child was, of course, none other than Joey—who Anya emotionally blackmailed Jeremy into adopting with her. His head was still thickly wrapped with bandages due to the injury h
Joey was struggling too much, so Corinne had to put him down again. "Okay, then. We'll stay here for a bit longer."As soon as Joey's feet touched the floor, he immediately backed into the corner, squatted, and curled like a scared animal with his arms hugging his knees.Corinne frowned at how pitiful he looked. "You do know I'm going to have to leave this room sooner or later, right? How long do you think you can hide in here then? What if you got hungry or thirsty? The people in this house will find you eventually."Joey started trembling violently when he heard he was going to be found eventually. Seeing this, Corinne could not help but feel sorry for him. She was once like him, too—all alone and helpless.Even though her mother entrusted her to Marvin, that good-for-nothing man was quick to send her off to live with his relative in the countryside as soon as the opportunity presented itself. She was a bona fide outsider in that house, and the only reason Marvin's relatives woul
"Do you want to leave this place?" Corinne asked Joey.Joey nodded anxiously."Where do you want to go?""Orph…age," stammered Joey.'Does he mean the orphanage? Heh. He'd rather go back to the orphanage than live with the Riveras, huh,' thought Corinne.She patted his head gently to calm him and to make him trust her."I really want to help, but I'm only a guest here while Anya is your legal guardian. I can't help you to leave this place if we don't have proof that she's abusing you."Joey only blinked and looked at her in a daze. He did not know how to express himself nor did he understand what she was talking about, despite him taking every word seriously.Corinne thought what she said was above Joey's comprehension ability too, so she sighed and said, "What I mean is… Bear with this for a while. I promise I'll get you out of here once I get the chance to, okay?"Joey was stunned for a while, but the look of wariness in his eyes lessened. He then nodded docilely."If you d
Corinne led Joey out of the room.Edmund was leaning against the wall and scrolling through his phone. As soon as he heard the door opening, he straightened himself respectfully. However, his dutiful expression changed to confusion when he saw Corinne with Joey.'What's going on? I've been standing guard here the whole time, so how did Miss Anya's kid go in without me noticing?' he wondered."Miss Corinne, how did Joey get into your room?""I'm not sure either. I just happened to see him come running in from the balcony."'Oh, so that's what happened! I'm so glad it wasn't my mistake,' thought Edmund."Forgive me, Miss Corinne," he said respectfully. "I shouldn't have let Joey bother you. You can leave him with me and head down to have your dinner."Corinne nodded and pulled Joey toward Edmund. However, the kid just grabbed her hand harder as if not wanting to let go.Joey had a particularly peaceful rest, and it had been such a long time since he had slept so soundly with none
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