Cory had always been swift to act, especially when it came to things related to Ashley.The next morning, they arrived at Ashley's parents' house. Cory rang the doorbell multiple times, but no one answered.The Webbs' neighbor finally came out and explained, "The two of them said that they had won a lottery two days ago. They packed up their things and left for a holiday."Cory stopped ringing the doorbell. When the neighbor left, he punched the gates hard.At that moment, his phone vibrated. He had gotten a message.He checked it and saw that he had gotten a photo from an unknown number. The photo showed Ashley's parents sitting in a café. He didn't need to think twice to know that it was from Calbert.Cory tightened his grip so much that his knuckles turned white. His hand was trembling a little as well.Benji saw the photo. Without thinking, he said, "That bastard is just leading us on like a dog on a leash!"First, Calbert had used a photo to lead them to the Webbs' house.
Otto finally agreed to Yvonne's request when he saw her sincere gaze."Alright, I'll help you keep this secret, but you have to promise me one thing too. You have to do enough preparation before seeing Mark."Yvonne nodded. "I know."Otto said nothing further. As he took a sip of tea, he suddenly recalled what Stephen had said the other day.Without realizing what he was doing, he asked, "I heard from Mr. Anderson that you two are planning to remarry?" Yvonne was a little caught off guard. She clearly hadn't expected Otto to ask about this.Otto noticed it and added, "Sorry, I'm being rude. If you don't want to say anything—""This was the plan." Yvonne thought for a while. "But, right now, I'm not sure about it.""You're thinking about the worst-case scenario before even leaving. This isn't like the Ms. Miller I know."Yvonne smiled. "You're right. This isn't my style.""Go and get revenge on Mark. I'll help you look after Hope. I promise there won't be any mistakes."Otto
That night, Stephen didn't ask Yvonne any further questions. He hugged her to sleep.The next morning, Yvonne slowly opened her eyes to see Stephen quietly sleeping. At such a close distance, she could see the stubble on his face. She rarely had a chance to look at Stephen like this, so she cherished that moment. She kept looking at him as if trying to etch his face in her memory.Sure enough, one couldn't get enough of the person they had feelings for. Just like how Yvonne couldn't get enough of his face at that moment. She wanted to look at him for the rest of his life."Have you had enough yet?" Stephen asked suddenly.Yvonne jumped. "You're up?""Hmm." Stephen opened his eyes and looked at Yvonne. "How did you sleep last night?""It was alright." Yvonne smiled and buried herself in Stephen's arms like a little kitten.The next second, Stephen gasped a little. Yvonne looked up to see his face all scrunched up."What is it?""My arm's numb. Don't move."Yvonne was stunned
Two days later, a huge burlap sack covered in blood was thrown by the gates of Hope Health Services.The security guard opened to have a look and was frightened half to death. Inside the burlap sack was a seriously injured man!Once the man received emergency treatment, he was no longer in danger.Outside the emergency room, a nurse handed a blood-soaked business card to Yvonne. "Ms. Miller. We found this in the patient's hand. He was clenching it tightly, so I thought it must be really important."Yvonne silently accepted the card and had a look. She could barely make out the words on it. It was the business card of a manager at an oil refinery.If she remembered correctly, that man had been wearing the uniform for the oil refinery when she had met him the last time.He had been beaten up and tortured so badly, yet he had still been determined to bring the business card to her. It was very likely that the oil refinery had something to do with Mark.At that thought, Yvonne crush
Yvonne drove an SUV, leading a flank of cars out of Hope.Once they entered the industrial area, she sped forward, ignoring all the thugs by the side of the road who tried to stop her. She almost knocked them all over.Stephen was in the passenger seat. He had no expression on his face, but he mentally praised Yvonne. When she got mad, she was really as ruthless as a man.Soon, the car skidded to a halt outside an oil refinery. The sound of tires screeching cut through the air piercingly.The other cars stopped as well. A dozen men in black got out of the cars.The workers in the oil refinery were stunned to see an entire troop of men. None of them dared to go forward. They even retreated, opening up a path for Yvonne's men.Yvonne got out of the car and saw a pot-bellied man walking out from the distance. A bespectacled man in a suit was behind him too.The owner of the oil refinery looked fierce. "Did you think that I'd be afraid just because you brought so many men over? I've
Yvonne entered the factory owner's office and immediately noticed the shiny dagger on his desk.She went over to pick up the dagger and played with it. When she heard the factory owner being thrown to the ground with a thud, she turned around.The factory owner saw the dagger in her hands. He was immediately scared out of his wits. "W-What are you trying to do?""Nothing." Yvonne waved the dagger. "This is a good dagger. Soaking it with your blood isn't worth it.""You …"Seeing Yvonne approaching him, he instinctively retreated until his back was against the wall. He mustered up the courage and yelled, "D-Don't come here! I'm warning you. Everyone is as close as brothers here. If you dare to lay a finger on me, my brothers will bulldoze Hope Health Services to the ground!"At that moment, Yvonne stopped in her tracks and looked at the owner condescendingly. "So you know who I am.""H-How could I possibly not know who you are …" The owner trailed off, realizing that he had mis
The surveillance footage showed exactly what the factory owner had said. They had just thrown the man out of the oil refinery. During that time, no one else came out.Half an hour later, a few men in black came out of the shadows. They didn't look tall, and they had hoods covering their faces.The quality of the camera was terrible. On top of it, it was dark at night. So they couldn't see those men's faces clearly.When the owner saw the group of men taking away Yvonne's subordinate, he yelled out excitedly, "You see that? This has nothing to do with me!""Shut up." Yvonne was a little annoyed. She pointed at the screen. "Didn't you say that everyone in the entire industry area is as close as brothers? So? Do you recognize these men?""You're making things difficult for me." The factory owner scrunched his neck up timidly. "I can't even see their faces. How could I recognize them? Also, they look really young. They look like thugs. There were a lot of them there."Yvonne cast h
Meanwhile, Yvonne and the rest drove back to Hope Health Services.At the entrance, Otto walked over to them. "How's the situation?"Yvonne shook her head.Otto understood what she meant. Mark was such a cautious person; he wouldn't let his tracks be uncovered."Don't worry too much. At least now you're sure he's in the industrial area."Yvonne nodded. She seemed a little tired. She said nothing more and walked past Otto.Stephen followed behind her. When he passed Otto, he paused for a while and looked at the latter.Otto nodded a little but avoided Stephen's gaze. Once the two left, Otto turned to look at them with a conflicted look in his eyes.…That night, Yvonne was in the living room playing house with Britney. Although she was smiling, one could still see how exhausted she was.Elvin seemed to have noticed it. He placed his book down and walked over to Britney. "I'll play with you."Britney was surprised. She looked at Elvin with wide eyes. "Really?" She recalled t
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