Then, Otto found an excuse to leave. When he turned around, he saw Stephen standing nearby. Their hostile gazes met for a moment before vanishing. Otto nodded a little at Stephen, retracted his gaze, and left.Yvonne seemed to have noticed it. She turned to see Stephen walking over to her.The sun shining through the window on the hospital corridors seemed to make him look even more regal and arrogant.She couldn't help but think back to the night when Stephen had shielded her while retreating. After a moment, she realized that her heart was beating wildly.Stephen stopped right in front of Yvonne. He glanced at the document in her hand. "When are you planning to take over Leonard and Claude's businesses?"Yvonne came to her senses. "I'll have to go and see Claude first. Then, I have to hold a funeral for him. I could take the chance to meet all the executives of Emerald Group.""Okay. I'll come with you." Stephen added seriously, "Julian can stay here and watch over Curtis. I'
The next day, the plane landed safely. Yvonne and Stephen rushed to the hospital's mortuary to see Claude's body.Yvonne did a simple check-up and found a tiny needle scar on his arm, which could have been easily overlooked."He must have been injected with something to cause a heart attack." Yvonne furrowed her brows. "It's too bad I can't go past the family's consent to do an autopsy. If not, I could find out if his heart attack had been caused by his sickness or drugs."If she could get an accurate autopsy report, it would help her weave her story better and shut the mouths of the executives in Emerald Group.However, at that moment, the right to explain was in her hands. The autopsy report wasn't important anymore.Yvonne pushed the corpse back into the mortuary fridge and instructed, "We'll hold a funeral for Claude in three days. Spread the news immediately.""Yes, Ms. Miller!" her subordinate responded before leaving the mortuary.Stephen went up to her and asked, "Have
Stephen was about to get up when Yvonne gently pushed him back down.She calmly approached Jane. "Ms. Ford. Even now, are you still trying to blame me for Claude's death? "How did Claude die? Don't tell me you don't know. Let me ask you—when Claude was imprisoned, where were you?"Yvonne deliberately raised her voice. She said painfully, "You were with Leonard! "Because Leonard was willing to take you with him to make the firearms deal. You abandoned your grandfather just because of a deal!"She continued, "After the accident at the site of the deal, you went missing. I sent men to search for you for a few days to bring you back so you could send Claude off."Yvonne shook her head. "Ms. Ford, I didn't want to put things out so explicitly, yet you insist on blaming me. I can't side with you anymore.""Y-You're lying!" Jane's eyes widened in bafflement. She never thought that Yvonne would be so good at acting!"You can get people to look into this and see whether I'm lying or n
That night, Yvonne opened the door and entered a room. The only light in the room came from a lamp lit on the nightstand next to the bed.Hearing sounds, Jane looked up to see Yvonne. She immediately squirmed and whimpered through the gag around her mouth, as if she were complaining.Yvonne went in closer and pulled a chair beside the bed. "As things stand, what else do you want to do? What could you do? Jane, if you're smart, you'll listen to me. I wasn't going to make things difficult for you, but it's too bad. Your behavior today has let me down."She added, "Keeping you will just be a problem in the future."The light shone on half of Yvonne's face. The other half of it was in the dark, yet the smirk and condescending expression on her face were as clear as day.Jane looked at her with eyes widened in bewilderment. Her face lost all its color. What did Yvonne mean by that? Was she going to kill her like she had killed Leonard and Claude? Was Yvonne mad?Jane let out muffl
"Sure," Yvonne happily agreed. She crossed her arms around her chest and scanned everyone with interest. "Tell me, what are your suggestions?"Clearly, no one had expected Yvonne to be so easy-going. They were stunned for a while before chiming in with their suggestions."You can give me Claude's casino in Astonia. I have long thought of expanding there.""The mine in Sellerstown could be mine. I just bid for another mine there last month. I could use it!"Yvonne listened to them in all seriousness and touched her chin while pondering. "From what I'm hearing, you all want the businesses that you have been involved in.""Yes, we can merge with the businesses we have to expand and develop our business. This way, it would be easier to manage it as well.""Yes, we can take the business that we are familiar with and have experience managing. Nothing will go wrong that way!"Everyone discussed it in excitement, as if this was going to go the way they thought it would.A gentle snic
After dealing with Claude's matters, Yvonne could finally take a breather.The night before she left, she got her men to pack up Claude's belongings. She realized that Claude's phone had always been off.She charged the phone. Soon, it lit up. Then, countless notifications bombarded the phone.Messages from Anthony of Well Spring Pharma caught her attention. She tapped into the notifications to see Anthony pleading sincerely with Claude."Claude, when you see this message, please give me a call. I have important things to discuss with you."There were 20 or more messages like that.The rest were Anthony's concerns about Claude, asking after him. But his intention was just to get Claude to contact him as soon as possible.Yvonne looked at the messages and couldn't help but snicker.Stephen, who was sitting next to her, looked over. "What is it?""Nothing. I just find it interesting." Yvonne showed him the phone. "Anthony's treating Claude as a lifesaver. If he were to find ou
At the same time, someone barged into Cory's building. His men were on guard. They stood in a row in front of him, glaring at Mark with caution.They could sense the air of hostility radiating from Mark. They didn't dare to go closer to him at all and only stood there on guard.Cory drank the remaining red wine in his glass before slowly getting up. He pushed his men aside and headed toward Mark."For the past few days, you—"The next second, a shiny gleam flashed across his eyes. A dagger was right on Cory's throat. A few drops of blood seeped out from where the blade had cut his flesh.Cory's men moved in closer in unison, but Cory raised his hand to signal them to stand down.He lowered his gaze to the dagger. "I know you're angry, but killing me will be useless.""Why?" Mark clutched the dagger tightly. He asked through gritted teeth, "Why didn't you attack that night?""For personal reasons." Cory didn't want to explain too much. He looked into Mark's eyes. "Consider thi
A snowstorm occurred early in the morning, covering the entire city in darkness.A group of men were secretly sneaking through the alleys of the city. Mark's leg hadn't recovered yet. Every step he took was excruciating, but he didn't slow down because of it.Even though it was cold, he was sweating profusely. His safety goggles fogged up from the heat, but his gaze remained determined.As long as he escaped, he would have the opportunity to gather men once more.He wasn't going to let any of them off the hook! Yvonne, Stephen, Kendrick—no one! No one could take what belonged to him!The ambition and hatred were raging in his heart, fueling him to quicken his steps. He no longer felt the pain.…After two hours of walking, the sky brightened a little.They were crossing the road by the periphery of the city when they heard someone from behind yelling, "Stop right there!"Benji was alarmed. He shoved Mark in front and instructed quickly, "Mr. Miller. Go right ahead. Run to th
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