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
Jane's sudden appearance ended the dinner abruptly and unhappily.Yvonne entered the room with Stephen following behind her. She smiled helplessly. "If Ms. Ford sees you in my room, I might just die mysteriously here.""Don't worry. Leonard and Claude still know what's right and wrong." Stephen leaned against the door and looked at Yvonne seriously. He asked quietly, "Did you not know about Mark destroying their docks?"Yvonne shook her head. "Things had been busy at Hope. I don't have superpowers. How would I have the time and energy to pay attention to other matters?""What?" Stephen was curious. "What happened at Hope?"Yvonne looked around to make sure that no one was standing by the corridors before explaining softly, "Howard left. He only left a note saying that he was going to do something important. "I initially thought he was going to settle the score with Mark, but Kendrick Beck told me that Howard took a flight to this city. He should be going after Leonard and Cl
At the same time, Claude was lecturing Jane in the study. "You're getting more and more disobedient!"Before Yvonne and the others had arrived, Claude had found an excuse to get Jane to leave the manor. He had never thought that she would disobey him and return to meddle in his affairs."You're just pissing me off to death! Are you happy now?""No," Jane muttered. "You didn't tell me the truth. You're the one at fault—""What's wrong? The only wrong thing I did was to let you get to know Stephen Anderson!" Claude was furious. "I really don't know what the hell is going on with you. How could you fall for a divorced man with a child?""He's a great guy—""Enough." Leonard's head hurt from listening to them argue. He curtly stopped their argument. "Jane's appearance tonight might not be a bad thing." Leonard furrowed his brows. He thought back about what Mark had said and continued, "I think Mark knows that we had something to do with Jade's incident."Claude's eyes widene
The tearoom was in total silence, broken only by the sound of water boiling in the kettle.Leonard was alarmed. His guess had been right!Next to him, Claude had an ugly expression as well. Jane had truly caused them huge trouble!After a while, Leonard said tentatively, "Actually, this is just an accident. We never would have thought that things would happen this way.""I don't want to hear any nonsense." Mark looked at Leonard coldly. "Since you planned to frame me for this, you should pay the price. Treat the destroyed docks as a lesson from me. "You two better stay out of my affairs with Yvonne. Don't let me find out that you're playing dirty tricks again. If not …"Mark's gaze sharpened. "Don't think you'll be able to live out your golden years peacefully."Leonard and Claude were stunned.Claude was the first to react. He rebuked, "Mark, we're already humbly explaining it to you, yet you're still so unforgiving! You clearly don't respect us at all!""If you want to st
Jane smiled widely. "Where are you going? I can show you around!""No need," Stephen said flatly as he walked past Jane."Oh, come on. How boring it is to go alone!" Jane chased after Stephen and asked curiously, "Where's Yvonne? Why isn't she with you?"Stephen replied without even looking at Jane, "She's busy.""I see …" Jane was secretly delighted. "I'm not the same as her. She puts everything else before you. I won't. I'll cancel everything just for you. Just let me accompany you. Come on, don't say no to a lady."Despite Stephen's frostiness, Jane's enthusiasm didn't die down at all.When Stephen got in the car, she got in the backseat too. Afraid that he would get out of the car, she quickly said to the driver, "Go."As the car moved, Stephen's gaze darkened. "Ms. Ford, do you insist on coming along?""Yes. How could I let you go alone? You're my grandfather's guest. You're not familiar with the place. If anything happens to you, I won't be able to answer him."Jane
Howard was shocked to see Gwen. "Why are you here?""I should be the one asking you that."Gwen looked at the unconscious Jane behind Howard. "Let's find a place to talk, you and me.""But …" Howard hesitated for a while. "Alright, we'll talk."Then, Gwen led Howard to a quieter part on the corner of the street. They stopped there. Gwen asked directly, "Why are you kidnapping Claude's granddaughter?""I …" Howard furrowed his brow. "This is my personal matter. Don't ask. I don't want to get anyone involved.""Does Yvonne know about this?"Howard shook his head. "She doesn't know.""Do you think that she wouldn't get involved in this?" Gwen said unhappily, "Howard, you're one of Yvonne's men. If Claude wants to go after you, do you think he won't look for Yvonne? "I thought you would know how to differentiate right from wrong after having been at the border for such a long time. Who would have thought that you would still be so reckless?""I …" Howard lowered his head.
"What are you looking at?" Stephen asked.Yvonne retracted her gaze. "Nothing. I just found it odd. If Howard had done this, why did he throw Jane into the truck and go missing?"She continued, "I blame myself. I was too busy keeping an eye on Jane and accidentally took someone's coffee. While I was distracted trying to reason with them, Howard took Jane away."At that moment, Stephen noticed the coffee stain on her sleeves. He furrowed his brows.Yvonne casually patted her sleeves. "It's fine. It's just iced coffee.""Hmm." Stephen looked at Jane. "Should we wait for him or hide?""I'm guessing he left." Yvonne looked at the corner of the street once more. She didn't know why, but her gut told her that Howard had already seen her."Everything was going so smoothly …" Yvonne sighed. "Next time, Howard will be even more careful. I don't think we'll be able to lure him out anymore."She looked at Stephen and smiled. "Forget about it. You've sacrificed yourself once. That's more
Jane only remembered someone knocking her unconscious. She didn't know what happened after that.When she heard what Stephen said, she quickly looked around for her belongings. Sure enough, her jewelry and bag were missing.Jane was instantly furious. "Robbers are really getting more and more brazen these days!""It's fine as long as you're safe."Now that everything was explained, Claude felt a little embarrassed. "Mr. Anderson, I got a little emotional back there. I'm sorry. I …""It's fine. I understand." Stephen tidied his collar and looked at Jane. He kindly reminded her, "Ms. Ford, you should pay more attention to Mr. Ford's feelings. Don't do things that make him worry.""How would I—""Mr. Anderson is right," Claude answered before Jane could say anything. He glared at her warningly, too.Stephen has already made himself clear. If Jane were to still fawn after him, his suspicion toward Stephen a moment ago would be a complete joke.Stephen was already showing courtes
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