Linda clenched her mug tighter as she heard their comments. She didn't want to confront them, so she turned and left with her mug of coffee.Unexpectedly, one of the colleagues took a step forward and hit her mug. Coffee spilled all over Linda.Linda wailed, burned by the hot coffee. She frantically took some paper towels to wipe the stain off her clothes.That colleague pretended to be baffled. "Oh, my goodness. I'm sorry. I didn't notice you there."Linda could hear the smugness in her voice. She was just about to retort when she heard someone bark, "What the hell are you all doing?"Soon, a figure pushed Linda's colleagues away and walked over to her. "Are you alright?"Linda looked at James, a little stunned. "Why are you here?""I'm a client here. I was here to check up on a project. I never thought I would bump into you here."James looked at the mess on Linda's clothes. Furious, he turned to look at the group of people. "I never knew that Finspatial was so unprofessional
Suzy walked closer to them and said to James with a smile, "I need to speak with Linda. I hope you can give us some privacy, Mr. Davison."James ignored her, merely looking at Linda.Linda hinted at him with her eyes, asking him to leave first, but James was still worried. He stuffed his business card in her hand. "I'll go. Call me if you're in any trouble."Linda nodded. Seeing James leave, she finally said to Suzy, "Are you here because of Benjamin Anderson?""Not really, but it has something to do with him." Suzy smiled. "That day, after you left, Benjamin, that bastard, kept forcing me to drink alcohol. The angrier he got, the more it proved that he was interested in you. Which was why I'd long predicted that Mr. Scott would push you to work with him."Of course, I'm not trying to intimidate you by saying this so that you'll let me have the client. I just feel like I have to warn you to be careful when dealing with him."Then, Suzy unnaturally put her hair behind her ear. "
Meanwhile, Yvonne was flipping through the documents Linda had given her.Linda might be young and pretty, but she had a great eye for investments. When she'd been abroad, she'd helped her clients earn buckets. If it hadn't been for her inexplicable relationship with Stephen, Yvonne would have let Linda have a go at investing her assets.What a pity.Yvonne set the documents aside. She instructed Hayden, "Send these back to Finspatial Securities. Tell them I don't wish to invest right now and kindly ask them not to disturb me."The moment Hayden left with the documents, Yvonne received a call from Caleb.Caleb said with a smile, "Yvonne, you'll have to treat me to a meal today."Yvonne was surprised. "You've found it?""Hmm, we'll talk in detail when we meet."Yvonne said delightedly, "No problem. I'll treat you to a meal at Galarinx Restaurant tonight."…That night, Galarinx Restaurant was crowded during dinner time.Yvonne had barely entered the private room when Caleb fo
"When I was looking into Mark through the dark web, Emerald Group targeted me. They tracked me down through the server and sent me a virus as a warning."Caleb sighed and continued. "Emerald Group sure has a lot of talented people. I'd barely started investigating when they found me. They even went past my firewall."Yvonne furrowed her brows. She hadn't expected Emerald Group to have such great defenses."But you don't have to be too disappointed. I did find some things about him."Caleb took his phone out, opened a document, and passed it to Yvonne. "Mark committed a crime in Northerna City when he was 17 years old. "It was a brawl against a gang. They had six people; two of them were seriously injured, while the other four sustained injuries. Mark was under 18 years old at the time, so he was only sentenced to a juvenile detention center for five years."Caleb looked at Yvonne and said, "Guess why he got into a fight with them? I looked into the gang. They were all from your
"This …" The server was conflicted. "It's a matter of the customer's privacy, we can't just …""Alright, I'll call the police then." Yvonne took her phone out. "I'll tell them that the Galarinx Restaurant allowed Benjamin Anderson to assault a woman and even tried to protect him despite his criminal behavior."The server immediately stopped her and told her everything.Five minutes ago, Benjamin had taken Linda away. She guessed that it must be the same as usual and that they'd headed over to the five-star hotel next door.Time was of the essence, so Yvonne couldn't spare any time explaining things to Caleb. She only sent him a message saying, "Something came up. Don't wait for me."Meanwhile, Suzy was on a call with James in the hotel's lobby. She was so nervous that her voice was trembling. "Mr. Davison, something has happened to Linda. Only you can help her." James immediately pushed the woman in his arms away and asked with urgency, "What happened?"Suzy stuttered, "I don't
Thus, Yvonne beat Benjamin up. She even tied his arms and legs using his own belt and tie.After doing that, Yvonne dusted her hands off and left the room. She decided to do it anonymously. When Linda woke up the next day, she would know how to report to the police.However, unbeknownst to her, a door at the deep end of the corridor opened a little as she entered the elevator.Ariel stood by the door, looking at her phone. Her screen was open to Hazel's reply, which read, "How dare Yvonne dare to touch my Benjamin! I'll kill her!"That night, Ariel had been looking forward to Benjamin facing drama. She'd never thought that Yvonne would take part in it too. Seeing Yvonne changed her mind. She texted Hazel with an urgency in her tone, saying that Yvonne was beating Benjamin up in the hotel.Now, Yvonne was surely going to get into trouble.Ariel clenched her phone tightly, suppressing the guilt in her heart. All these years, her righteous upbringing had stopped her from doing such
That night, Benjamin was also sent to the hospital, covered in bruises. Although he only had bruises and no internal injuries, Hazel's heart was still broken. She sobbed and yelled, wanting Yvonne to pay the price!William couldn't stop Hazel, so he followed her to Miller Villa.Outside the gates, Hazel yelled, "Yvonne! Come out right now! How dare you beat Ben up! Don't stay hiding! I'm going to call the police!"Inside, Yvonne signaled Lloyd to sit back down. "Stay with Elvin. I'll deal with her. She can't do anything here." Seeing Yvonne leave the room, Elvin walked over to the balcony. Lloyd followed him. They watched as Yvonne walked over to the gates.Hazel went maniacal. She looked like she wanted to kill Yvonne. She shook her gates with her hands. "Yvonne! I dare you to open this gate right now!""By all means, yell louder." Yvonne crossed her arms. "Let everyone know that your son is a rapist.""W—what nonsense are you talking about?" Hazel's face paled. "You're the one
"You're still defending that bastard!" Philip was furious. "Fine, this isn't in my control. After Ms. Mitchell wakes up, if she wants to report it to the police, we will cooperate with her."Hazel panicked. "Father, w—what do you mean? Are you siding with an outsider? You can't do that!""You need to draw a line! Since Benjamin dared to do such evil things, he should be prepared to bear the consequences! The Anderson family will never protect someone like him!"Philip had always been hard-headed. Now that he'd made himself clear, he no longer wanted to deal with Hazel. He got up and left. Hazel wanted to go after him, but William pulled her back.William looked at Stephen, who was approaching them. "Stephen, Yvonne crossed the line this time. She …""Who told you that Yvonne was the one who did it?" Stephen asked coldly.William was baffled. Was Stephen not here to stand up for Yvonne?"Who else was at the hotel last night?" Stephen pressed on. His gaze was extremely icy and sha
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