"Nope."Yvonne shook her head in response. "I was able to keep the others under control at the meeting just now, but I won't be able to stop them from gossiping about you. You'll have a hard time working here from now on, so you might as well take the time off and rest at home.""I'm not going home! I'm also responsible for the leak, so I need to stay here and help out with the investigation!" Nicole's eyes started to redden as she hung her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Ms. Miller. It was my fault for not keeping a close eye on the drafts. The company suffered a huge loss because of my mistake.""Traitors who are the closest to you are the hardest to defend against. If we do have a traitor in our midst, you wouldn't have been able to protect the drafts, no matter how hard you tried." Yvonne looked at Nicole at that moment. She had a feeling that there was more to the incident than met the eye. For some reason, a bad premonition kept clouding her heart."Don't think too much about it, Nic
Once Yvonne located Nicole's apartment, she rang the doorbell. However, no one came to open the door for her, even after she'd waited outside for a long time.A bad feeling washed over Yvonne immediately, prompting her to turn around and motion for Lloyd to do his thing. The latter stepped forward to work his magic. A few loud bangs later, he was able to bust the door down.The apartment was plunged into total darkness as the lights weren't turned on. Then again, Yvonne could see a faint outline lying in front of the doorway of the balcony.Alarmed, she bounded toward the figure immediately. Once she got close to the figure, Yvonne was able to smell traces of blood permeating the air, which made her heart skip a beat out of anxiety.Lloyd, who'd trailed in behind Yvonne, finally located the light switch. The moment he turned it on, the entire apartment was flooded with light right away.Nicole instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes from the bright light due to the photosen
At first, Nicole didn't really want to open up, so she started by talking about the things that Yvonne had heard about in the past.Under Yvonne's guidance, Nicole gradually began to speak about her innermost feelings and thoughts."My parents have always thought of me as a waste of space. They think that women are supposed to marry into other families sooner or later, so there's no need for them to learn so much at school. Would you believe me if I told you that I was forced into a matchmaking session the moment I graduated from high school? They claimed that they'd be able to receive a nice sum of money from my husband's family once I got married. That way, my older brother could get married successfully."Nicole continued, "I didn't listen to them at all. Instead, I ran away from home one night and traveled to the city before finding a job there in order to earn tuition fees for my university classes. I didn't ask my family for even a penny; instead, I gave them a portion of my o
Nicole's family home was located in a rural village, which was a three-hour drive from Northerna City. When the Porsche Panamera drove into the village, its appearance attracted many villagers' attention. It was their first time seeing such a beautiful car drive into the village. Those who were curious followed the car, hoping to see which family the car owner would visit.At that time, the Princetons' house was shrouded in a joyous and celebratory atmosphere. There were banquet tables set outside the house as well as a nice buffet section.The Porsche's tires trampled over the bits of confetti on the road as it slowed down to a stop.Someone yelled, "Carl, a VIP has shown up outside your house! Wow, you're pretty amazing!"The moment Carl and Dorothy Princeton heard the villager's exclamation, they rushed out of the house. Nicole's brother, Roger Princeton, trailed behind them as well.It was apparent that Roger kept up with the times, seeing as he was able to recognize the luxur
Yvonne sidestepped calmly in order to avoid the stick that was about to land on her. Immediately after that, she countered by aiming a strong kick at Roger's stomach.Having received the brunt of the attack, Roger's anger was fueled even more, leading to him lifting his stick and slamming it down on Yvonne.The next thing he knew, a flying kick came out of nowhere and slammed into his body. As a result, Roger and his stick flew away from Yvonne. He landed on the ground heavily and couldn't get up for a moment.Carl and Dorothy panicked upon seeing their son's sorry state. They quickly stood in front of Roger protectively."Beating people up is a crime! I'll call the cops on you!" Carl exclaimed.Dorothy added, "You can forget about leaving this village now that you've beaten Roger up!"Yvonne couldn't help but laugh mockingly upon hearing the threats. "A lot of people have been watching the whole time, you know. Roger was the one who attacked me first. Our actions are considered
"Who the hell do you think you are? You have no right to meddle in our family business!"Carl was displeased with Yvonne's statement, which led to him glaring at Nicole angrily. "Nicole, your mother and I put in so much effort just to raise you. If you decide to heed that ugly wench's words—""Please show her some respect!" Nicole interjected immediately, her expression slowly darkening. "Ms. Miller's words echo my sentiments! If you can't cough up the money today, I'll sever all ties with you right now! There's no reason for me to stay in this family anyway! You never treated me like your own daughter all these years! Have you even given me anything other than asking for more money and wanting me to work for you?"Nicole then started to chuckle coldly. "All you have bestowed on me is my life. If you're that reluctant to let me keep it, then by all means, take it back.""W—what the hell are you talking about? We—""Judging from your response, it seems that you still intend on keep
Dorothy admitted defeat just as Lloyd raised his fist. She yelled, "It's a woman named Sarah Thompson! I borrowed money from her! Don't hurt my son!"Now that she had gotten the answer she'd come here for, Yvonne called out to Lloyd. "Let's go."It was clear that Lloyd hadn't had his fill of beating up Roger for the day, seeing as he kicked the latter mercilessly after retracting his fist. "I'll beat you up again if I ever see you causing trouble for Nicole!"The Princeton family didn't dare utter a word. They could only watch the luxury car leave the village.Carl was the first one to recover from the shock. After yelling at the onlookers to leave their vicinity, he turned to deliver a heavy slap across Dorothy's face. "You really are a troublemaker! Didn't you say that the money came from Nicole?"Aggrieved, Dorothy could only cover her cheek while sobbing quietly. "What else do you want me to say, then? How would I know the money would bring us so much trouble? Then—""You kno
"Now that the truth has been exposed, do you really think Thomas will still accept you into his company?" Yvonne picked up her phone, a faint trace of a smile still perched on her face as she looked at Sarah. "I'll help you find out what his answer is right now." She dialed Thomas' phone number as she spoke.Soon, Thomas' voice boomed from the other end of the line, as Yvonne had already enabled speaker mode. "What is it?"His tone had a slight lilt, as though he was anticipating drama coming his way. Perhaps Thomas thought that Yvonne had been left without a choice and that she intended to ask for his help."I'd like to ask you about something. I wonder if you know Sarah Thompson. She's one of my employees, you see." A mocking smile curled on Yvonne's lips as she continued, "She told me that she's about to resign from this company so that she can become a senior executive at Jones Jewels."Silence ensued for a moment before Thomas replied, "I don't know whoever that is.""Oh?"