After talking to Howard, Yvonne was still worried.She asked Jim and Curtis to meet her in her office and told them what Howard said to her.Jim was stunned. "How could Howard think this way? We would never use his heart for Jade. Jade will never agree to it either!"Yvonne nodded. "Yes, I agree, but I'm afraid Howard won't listen to me.""So …" Curtis chimed in. "You're telling us this so that we'll keep an eye on him in case he does anything stupid?""Yes. Knowing Howard, he would really do something as stupid as sacrificing his life for Jade." Yvonne looked glum. "You two have to keep a tight eye on him."Curtis nodded. "Okay. I won't make any mistakes again this time."Yvonne knew what he was talking about. She furrowed her brows. "Curtis, you're not at fault for Chuck's matter. You don't have to—""You don't have to console me," Curtis said without any change in his expression. "If I hadn't gotten hurt and had kept a close eye on Chuck, Howard wouldn't have had the cha
The next morning, Jim and Curtis headed to Howard's room together. They wanted to invite him to join them for breakfast so that they could talk.However, there was no response from him, even though they had knocked on his door for a long time.Curtis was alarmed. He knocked the door down with force. They rushed into the room to see that it was empty, with only a note left addressed to Yvonne.Soon, Yvonne received the note. She read it and furrowed her brows. "Howard left.""Did he say where he was going?" Jim asked anxiously.Yvonne shook her head. "He only told me to take care of Jade. He said he had to do something important."At that moment, Yvonne thought about what Howard had said to her in the garden the day before. It turned out that the important thing he had mentioned wasn’t taking care of Jade but something else, which he wasn’t planning on telling her.If she had sensed something was wrong back then, she would have forced Howard to tell her. It was too bad that she
When Kendrick saw Yvonne, he threw the cigarette in his hand on the ground and stepped on it. Then, he walked up to her."Why are you still here?" Yvonne asked with a frown."Do you really want me to leave that badly?" Kendrick was standing at the bottom of the steps. He looked at Yvonne with an ambiguous smile. "Is that how you treat someone who just wants to help you?"Yvonne was a little baffled. What sort of logic was that? A monster who looked down on human life was calling himself a good person?"Aren't you looking for Howard Hough?"Yvonne was stunned. "You know that he left?""Yes. I also know where he went.""For real?" Yvonne quickly walked down the steps and approached Kendrick. "Where did he go? Could you get him back?""I was initially planning to do that …" Kendrick paused for a while. "But Howard was smart. He ran off while my men weren’t paying attention to him. When my men caught up with him, he had already boarded a flight. “His destination is the same
Chuck had long predicted that Yvonne would call him. He pretended to be stunned. "Leonard and Claude had something to do with Jade's incident? Ms. Miller, stop pulling my leg! Jade turned out this way because of Mark, right?"Yvonne was silent."Why are you calling me anyway? Did something happen? Or did Leonard and Claude come looking for you?" Chuck sounded frightened. "I've been good at Hope. I only treated Jade because Howard kept begging me to. I didn't do anything other than that. Don't accuse me of anything.""Chuck, stop playing games with me," Yvonne said coldly. "Howard left Hope after talking to you. Who would believe you?""Howard left Hope?" Chuck was bewildered. "Where has he gone? Shouldn't he be staying by Jade's side?""Chuck," Yvonne said warningly and impatiently.Chuck sounded as if he had been wronged. "Ms. Miller, I know nothing about this. What are you trying to make me say? Others might not know, but you should know better. I work for Leonard and
"What?"Mark sat up. He minimized the call app to see the recording that Chuck had sent.Chuck said, "I recorded this when Leonard and Chuck ordered me to do things. You'll know the truth once you listen to it."Then, Chuck hung up.Mark played the recording and immediately heard Leonard's voice. As the recording went on, his face darkened. His eyes became bloodshot and murderous, too.It turned out that those two were the ones who had kidnapped Jade and framed him for it.Mark sneered. Who knew that those two old farts were still down for dirty tricks?"Since you two played dirty, don't blame me for being ruthless." Mark made up his mind and called his men in. He ordered them, "I want Claude's dock business destroyed within the week."He looked so intimidating that no one dared to ask any further questions. They lowered their heads and replied in unison, "Yes, sir!"That night, a dozen Land Rovers departed from Mark's mansion.Someone who was hiding in the dark happened to
Three days later, Leonard and Claude invited Mark and Yvonne to their manor the following Wednesday. It was supposedly a meeting for the Principals.This was exactly what Yvonne had wanted. Although she didn't know why they had suddenly invited her, it gave her an opportunity to look for Howard. She immediately accepted their invitation.Before heading over, she took some time to spend the day with Jade. Other than her daily check-up, she spent the time talking with Jade, trying to make sure Jade spent less time sleeping.Before this, Jade had already found Yvonne familiar. After spending more time together, she started trusting Yvonne more and more.That day, Yvonne casually mentioned, "Jade, I might need to leave Hope for a few days—"Before she could finish her sentence, Jade grabbed Yvonne's hand. "Where are you going? Are you abandoning me like my father?""No." Yvonne grabbed Jade's hand and said gently, "Your father didn't abandon you. He loves you the most in the enti
Two days later, Yvonne left for Leonard and Claude's manor.When the plane landed, she received a message from Stephen. "I'm waiting for you at the arrival terminal."She smiled and put her phone away as she quickly got off the plane.At the arrival terminal, Stephen smiled when he saw Yvonne. Yvonne met his gaze and teased him, "Someone's in a good mood.""You too." Stephen naturally took over Yvonne's luggage. Yvonne let him do it. She even passed him her backpack too.They left the airport together. At the exit, a chauffeur was already waiting to pick them up."Claude asked me to pick you two up. You must be tired from all the traveling.""Thank you," Yvonne responded. She exchanged a look with Stephen. They read each other's minds.Leonard and Claude were being so polite to them. That only meant that those two must surely have something to ask of them.Even if they didn't have any ulterior motives, they were surely trying to get them on their side.The journey to the ma
After exchanging pleasantries, Leonard arranged for the household staff to take Yvonne and Stephen back to their rooms to rest.Once they left, Claude went up to Leonard. "Leonard, what on earth are you trying to do?"Since that day, Leonard still hadn't shared his plan with Claude. Claude had been dying to know what he was up to. "Mark has destroyed our business, yet you're trying to be the mediator. Do you think he'll take you up on it?""What do you know?" Leonard side-eyed Claude. "If we don't come up with an excuse to get Mark to come to our territory, are you going to wait to fall into his trap?"Claude was at a loss for words. "I-It sure is better that he comes to our territory."Leonard retracted his gaze. "Just follow my lead. At least, we have to find out why Mark is doing this to us."…Mark was nowhere to be seen, even during dinner that night.Seeing how the food was getting cold, Leonard awkwardly picked up his cutlery. "Let's not wait. Let's eat."Claude was
A light breeze blew by in the courtyard. Agatha slowly recounted the past.Back then, Daniel and his wife, Katherine, had just had Mark. The entire Carrington family had been celebrating.They had doted on Mark and taken him wherever they went.That day, they had headed out. Before they'd known it, Mark had been taken away.Just when Daniel and Katherine had been on the brink of losing it, they had received a call from the kidnapper to bring the ransom to a specific spot.They had gotten the money and driven there without any hesitation. No one had thought that they would ever return after that. Even Mark had disappeared.When Agatha finished recounting this, her cup of tea had already cooled.She wiped her tears away. She said through a catch in her throat, "Katherine was hugging the bag of money tightly until the moment she passed away, as though she were hugging you."Mark furrowed his brows. Now that he'd heard the truth about Daniel and Katherine, he should have felt pain
As Yvonne left the room, she could tell that Stephen's mood was much better.She looked at him. "Are you thinking of something nice?""No." Stephen looked at Yvonne with a rare twinkle in his eyes."Let me take you to breakfast." Before Yvonne could respond, he took her hand and led her to the elevator.Thinking about how he'd stood outside her room the entire night, Yvonne decided to let him hold her hand.Then, her thoughts drifted to Otto. Somehow, she had a bad feeling.…At the same time, Mark was in the courtyard of Carrington Mansion. He sat next to Agatha and poured some tea for her.He handed her a cup of hot tea. "Great-Grandma, try this."When he noticed that Agatha had no reaction, he called out to her once more. "Great-Grandma?""Huh?" Agatha came to her senses. She looked at Mark in confusion. "What is it?""You've been distracted since yesterday. Are you thinking of something?" Mark asked.Agatha shook her head. "Nothing." Then, she picked up her teacup and
Yvonne stood by the door of the bedroom and looked at Otto, who was looking out of the window in a daze on the bed.The sun shone on his face. He looked quite hungover and had a sickly pale face.Yvonne hesitated for a while before saying gently, "Mrs. Jenner called me last night. She's worried about you."Otto didn't respond.Yvonne went in closer and added, "She said that you called her and asked about your father. She found it strange."Mr. Carrington, why did you suddenly think about your father? Did Mrs. Carrington Senior bring him up yesterday?"All Yvonne got was silence.Luckily, she was patient. She sat on the couch and followed Otto's line of sight. Tiny dust particles were floating among the sunbeams. Yvonne also fell into a daze as she watched them float about.Suddenly, Otto asked, "Have you ever felt like your world was falling apart?""Hmm?" Yvonne was confused. "For example?""I mean, like the person that you trust turns out to be different from what you'd t
The next morning, Yvonne opened her door to see Stephen standing outside. She was caught off guard."What is wrong with you this morning? Why didn't you knock…"While talking, Yvonne noticed that Stephen was still wearing the same clothes as the night before. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Don't tell me you didn't leave last night? Have you been standing outside this door all this while?""Hmm." Stephen looked at Yvonne intently. "I thought you would've figured it out quickly."Yvonne was speechless, but she thought to herself that she'd slept like a baby the night before.She smiled at him. "Figure what out?" She noticed Stephen frowning as though he were on the brink of losing his temper.She quickly added, "I-I mean, you have to give me a hint, right? I've thought about it the entire night, but I still don't understand. My brain isn't functioning well."Stephen asked suspiciously, "You've been thinking about it the entire night?""Yes, which is why I didn't look for yo
"If I hadn't come to find you tonight, you probably wouldn't tell me anything about what happened tonight, would you?" Stephen asked in retort.It wasn't a big deal, as long as they returned safely. Yvonne wondered why she needed to report this to him.But she still smiled. "It's late. How could I disrupt your rest? It would've been the same if I told you about it tomorrow morning, right?"Stephen sniggered. "Yvonne, you still don't know where you've gone wrong."He suddenly went in closer to her. Yvonne instinctively retreated until her back was up against the wall. She glared at him."What on earth is wrong with you? I've already said that I would've told you tomorrow morning—"A punch went past Yvonne and landed brutally on the wall.Yvonne was a little stunned. She looked into Stephen's eyes and furrowed her brows. "Stephen, I don't want to quarrel with you for no reason. "Mrs. Carrington Senior went to look for Otto today. Calbert couldn't reach him the entire day, so he
Jane returned to the private room, distracted.She sat down next to Cory. She looked at him as he reached his hand out to her in confusion.Cory furrowed his brows and asked unhappily, "Where's the wine?""Wine… Yes! Wine!" Jane came to her senses. She was just about to get up when Cory pulled her back.He grabbed her by her chin and forced her to look at him. "What happened when you went out?""N-Nothing."Cory tightened his grip. Jane furrowed her brows in pain. "I-I… I saw Yvonne. She told me that she and Stephen got remarried.""What?" Cory relaxed his grip a little. "They got remarried?""Hmm.""So, what?" He had no intention of letting her go, and he looked at her sharply. "Does it bother you so much that Stephen got remarried?"Jane looked at Cory frantically. "Cory, what do you mean by that?""What do I mean? You know what I mean."Cory went in closer. His tone turned icy. "You used to pursue Stephen. Now that you know he's gotten married, you're in this shitty mood
Yvonne turned around to see Jane smiling at her ambiguously. She furrowed her brows. How were they always bumping into each other?Jane crossed her hands in front of her chest and leaned against the wall. She swept her gaze at Calbert and Otto. "Two guys and one woman. You sure know how to have fun!"Calbert instantly snapped, "What the hell are you talking about?""Why are you being so fierce? Did I hit the nail on the head?" Jane snickered. "Two guys and a woman came out of a private room in the middle of the night. Anyone would come to the same conclusion. We're all adults. There's no need to pretend to be innocent.""You—" Calbert was about to go up to Jane, but Yvonne stopped him."Since Ms. Ford is here, I'm guessing so is Cory?" Yvonne smiled, yet her smile didn't reach her eyes. "If you cause a scene here and this bar gets raided, guess who'll be the ones walking out here alive?"Jane's expression turned ugly. "Are you threatening me?""It's just a kind reminder." Yvon
Calbert and Yvonne managed to track Otto's car to a bar, thanks to the information they'd gotten from his staff. Otto's car was right outside the bar.Calbert looked at the neon sign and furrowed his brows. "Why is Otto here? Did what Mrs. Carrington Senior said really hit him so badly that he has to drown himself in alcohol?"Yvonne said nothing and headed directly inside the bar."Wait up for me!" Calbert went after her. He subconsciously protected her from all the drunk patrons.The lighting in the bar was dim. Many of the patrons were drunk and having fun.Yvonne and Calbert walked around the booth area, but Otto was nowhere to be found. They pulled a server over to ask if there was a patron by the name of Otto Carrington who had reserved a private room.Coincidentally, the server had just taken two bottles of wine to Otto's room. So, he led them to the private room.Calbert tipped the server before opening the door and entering. The entire room reeked of alcohol.He looked
After Agatha left, Otto stood in the same spot without moving.A long time later, Zac entered the office. He looked at Otto's back and asked quietly, "Mr. Carrington, will you still see the client?""No." Otto sounded heartbroken.Zac didn't dare ask further questions. He gently closed the door and reminded the secretary that no one was to disturb Otto.In the office, Otto was alone. He slowly walked over to the couch and slumped into it. His mind was in a mess."Alexander was the one who planned the kidnapping back then."Agatha's words rang in his mind for a long time.Alexander's young face appeared in Otto's mind, smiling at him affectionately."Otto! Amazing! Yes! Just like that!""You're amazing at badminton! You're going to make the country proud! I'm going to be so proud of you!""Otto, my son!"Memories of his interactions with Alexander flashed across his mind at that moment.Otto couldn't imagine that such a loving father would do such an absurd thing. Alexander