"She's an old friend. I haven't seen her for a long time, so I was just curious."Charlotte believed Yvonne. "I see. Then, what else would you like to know? I'll tell you everything I know.""Do you know how Jane ended up with Cory?""Yes, I would like to know about that too." Calbert went in closer. "Sloan loved another woman before this. How did he end up with Jane?""Uh…" Charlotte looked a little troubled. "I'm not sure about this, but I heard other people say that it was because Ms. Ford looks a lot like Cory's dead wife. "Cory only arrived at the border this year. He doesn't show himself much. No one knows much about him. We only know he isn't to be messed with."Calbert furrowed his brows. "Jane looks like Ashley Webb?""You know his dead wife?" Yvonne asked."I only met her once." Calbert was perplexed. "Just when she was dying. How could I remember what she looks like?"Yvonne was speechless. Calbert was only good at fighting. He was terrible at everything else."
"Of course, we'll fight!" One of Wilbur's men yelled out.Wilbur turned around and punched him in the head. He rebuked, "Fight? Do you think your fist can win against their guns?"His subordinate panicked immediately. "They have guns?""Yes!" Wilbur had seen it the other day. Calbert had a handgun right on his waist!People who carried huns with them at the border were most likely in the firearms business. Wilbur was just a businessman. How could he go up against such people? However, he was in front of his subordinates, so he couldn't beg for mercy so quickly.He braced himself and looked over. "I'm guessing there must be some misunderstanding. I have always been managing this market. How could this have anything to do with your friend?""Even if Howard has passed away, this shouldn't be yours." Calbert's eyes sharpened. "I hate unappreciative bastards like you the most."Then, he completely lost his patience. He raised his hand. "At first, I thought of giving you a choice, b
After chasing off Wilbur and his men, Calbert entered the market. He pointed at the stall in the best spot. "This spot will be for my sister."The vendor there was furious but didn't dare to say anything. They were forced to accept it. Charlotte was surprised. "Is that alright?""Why wouldn't it be alright?" Calbert looked at Charlotte. "From today onward, I call the shots in this market. When I'm not around, you call the shots.""But…" Charlotte hesitated. "I'm just a girl. How could I manage—""Don't worry, I'll arrange for people to assist you."Then, Calbert scanned around coldly. He was so terrifying that the vendors were scared half to death. "If anyone has any opinions about you or dares to bully you, my men won't let them go."Calbert was extremely scary. Now that he had warned them, who would dare say anything?Thus, everyone raised their hand and promised. "We'll take good care of Charlotte! We won't bully her!"Calbert slowly retracted his gaze. "That's more like i
Right at this moment, Benji went up to Cory and said softly, "Boss, that market doesn't belong to Wilbur."Cory gave him a side-eye. He could clearly no longer suppress his anger.Benji braced himself and continued, "The market originally belonged to Howard from Emerald Group. Wilbur used to work under Howard.""What are you trying to say?" Wilbur chimed in curtly. "When Howard was around, I helped him manage the market. Now that he has passed away, the market belongs to me. Is there a problem?""Shut up," Cory rebuked. Wilbur timidly shut up.Benji added, "Now Calbert is working with Emerald Group. Knowing him, he surely wouldn't go and make a scene at the market without any reason. I'm guessing someone told him to take over the market."At that thought, Cory calmed down. "What you're saying is… Stephen is taking back the market?"Benji nodded. "Yes. You'd just met him recently. He's at the border. "Wouldn't it make sense for him to get Calbert to take back the market? Y
The black sedan followed Jane's car all the way to a bar. The sky gradually became darker.The people in the car watched Jane enter the bar before calling Calbert. "Boss, Ms. Ford has entered the bar.""Okay. Send me the address. You two can continue keeping an eye on her." Calbert hung up. He looked at Yvonne, who was playing with Doodoo on the couch. "The situation isn't as you predicted. Cory didn't stand up for Jane. She ran out alone. She's at a bar."Calbert frowned. "Could they have gotten into a quarrel?"Yvonne threw the ball in her hand. Doodoo went after the ball. She said distractedly, "It looks like Jane isn't really that important to Cory.""Then, what are you planning to do? Do you still want to meet her?" Calbert asked."Of course. Why not?" Yvonne took the ball from Doodoo. She turned to Calbert and smiled. "We're old friends who haven't seen each other in such a long time. We should greet her properly and see what on earth she's planning to do by sticking to
Jane fell to the floor. The pain immediately sobered her up. "Ouch!"She pushed herself up with both hands on the floor. She looked over to the couch. The lights in the room were dim, so she could barely make out a figure sitting on the couch. The figure looked rather petite. It was most likely a woman.Jane became a little bolder. She gulped and asked, "W-Who are you?""It's not important." The woman's hoarse voice rang out.Jane furrowed her brows. How could such a petite and feeble-looking woman have such a terrible voice?""W-Why did you capture me?""I just wanted to talk.""Then…" Jane looked at the empty couch. "You should at least offer me a seat, right?"Jane was about to get up when the two burly men behind her pressed her down."You stay right there." The woman's voice was calm. It carried no emotion, only utter condescension.Jane was displeased. "Who the hell are you? Do you know who I am? I'm—""Jane Ford, Cory Sloan's woman."Jane was in a daze. "S-Since yo
Jane's mind was a mess. She didn't dare to simply trust a stranger at a time like this.She looked at the glass of wine on the floor before looking at the man by the side. "Give me some lemon-infused water."The man didn't budge. He only moved when he heard the woman instruct, "Give it to her." He got out of the room to get the waiter to bring lemon-infused water over.When the man turned around to return, he seemed to have sensed something. He subconsciously glanced toward the dance floor. When he didn't notice anything odd, he returned to the room. Little did he know that a man was at a corner typing a message. He sent the address of the bar and the number of the room to someone.Then, he kept his phone away and walked over to the entrance.When he was by the entrance, he saw Calbert coming over and entering the bar. He paused, but it was too late for him to hide.He could only lower his hood and pretend to stumble out of the bar. Soon, the man and Calbert passed by each ot
Jane frantically looked at the door to see Cory walking in. Her eyes sparkled. "Cory!"However, Cory didn't even look at her for a second. He walked straight to the woman and stopped right in front of the coffee table.The lights in the room were dim. The place where the woman was sitting was even darker. He almost couldn't see her face.Cory wasn't interested in what she looked like. He asked coldly, "She belongs to me. I'm going to take her away right now. Do you have any objections?"The woman was silent, but Cory could clearly sense her sizing him up.He was the one standing while she was seated, but she gave him a sense that she was much more superior than him. "What a coincidence." Calbert's mischievous voice rang out in the room. He was accompanied by a group of men who outnumbered those in the room.The tables had been turned.Cory's gaze darkened a lot. He looked at the woman with more hostility than before."You're Calbert's person?" The woman didn't respond. She
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