Since Linda's condition wasn't serious, she was discharged the next day. James helped her check out and get her breakfast while she sat in her bed alone, staring out of the window in a daze.Just then, there was a knock on the door.Linda turned to see Eugene smiling at her. He was carrying a basket of fruits. There were two other middle-aged men behind him. "Linda, how are you?"Linda looked at the men behind him. "Who are they?""Hello, I'm William Anderson, Ben's father.""And I'm Mr. Anderson's attorney."William walked over to Linda and said apologetically, "Ms. Mitchell. I'm sorry for what Ben did to you. I have failed as a father."Linda was alarmed. She subconsciously retreated backward. "Why are all of you here?""First and foremost, I'd like to apologize to you. The other thing we wanted to discuss with you is how to settle this issue."William nodded at her. "Look at you. You haven't suffered much, but Ben still in the hospital. He's already gotten his punishment. S
"What the fuck are you doing?" An angry voice came from the door.James rushed over to Linda's side and shoved Eugene aside. He glared at William. "Mr. William, if I were you, I would have hidden myself in embarrassment for having Benjamin as my son. "How dare you try to do this to a lady? I finally understand why Benjamin has the guts to do such things. He has shameless people like you supporting him!"James spat. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!"William furrowed his brows. "You're from the Davison family, right? What has this got to do with you? You have no right to speak here.""Linda is my friend. I won't let you bully her!" James sneered condescendingly. "Benjamin is such a coward. Getting his parents to clean up after his mess!"William was furious. "D—don't you say that about my son!"James said arrogantly, "If Linda wasn't here, I wouldn't be so nice and mince my words!""You …" William had an ugly expression. "Mr. Davison. Offending the Anderson family beca
Elvin's brows were furrowed while he stared at his laptop. Although he couldn't really understand the content on Benjamin's hard disk, his instincts told him that it wasn't suitable for children.He randomly clicked a video open to see bold red words written on the screen, "Not Suitable For Children."Coincidentally, Lloyd entered his room just then with a plate of fruits in hand. He was shocked, to say the least, when he saw what was on the screen.He strode over and closed Elvin's laptop. He was taken aback and stuttered, "Y—you're just a child. What are you watching?"Before Elvin could explain, Lloyd ran out of the room and yelled, "Ms. Yvonne! Something bad has happened to Elvin!"Elvin was speechless.Yvonne frantically ran over to his room. "What happened?"Lloyd said, "Elvin is watching porn! He is only five years old!"Yvonne looked at Elvin in disbelief. "W—why are you watching those things?"Elvin was curious. "What is porn?"Lloyd answered boldly, "Those things on
James dropped Linda off at her place before driving over to Oceania Villa.The moment he entered, he enthusiastically looked for Stephen. "Stephen, what should we do about Linda's problem? We can't just let Benjamin off the hook!"Stephen looked up. "How is she?"He knew that James had been with Linda for the past two days, so he'd spent all his time and energy collecting evidence. Although he'd found some of Benjamin's victims, they had been forced to settle it privately, so they didn't have any evidence against him.Stephen was stumped because of that. If they didn't have any evidence, even if they reported it to the police, it wouldn't affect Benjamin at all.James slumped onto the couch. "William brought men over to look for Linda today and said a bunch of nonsense to her. She was quite traumatized by them. "Stephen, William, and the others have crossed the line! If we were to just let this go this time, they would surely make us the butt of the joke!"Stephen furrowed his
Stephen sneered. "Are you trying to stand up for her? No. You're just doing this for yourself, so you could create chaos in this family."Benjamin had almost raped his cousin. If word were to get out, not only would it be a joke, but the Andersons would also be utterly humiliated. Arthur had come over to stir the pot. The messier, the better!"How dare you!" Arthur sprang up and rebuked, "What nonsense is this? Stephen, where the hell are your manners? I wonder how this family brought you up this way! How dare you say such a thing about your elders?""Arthur" Philip called him out with displeasure. No matter what, Stephen was his favorite grandson. Arthur scolding Stephen in front of him irked him."I know Stephen better than you. He must have thought it through before choosing to hide Linda's identity. As for Benjamin's incident, surely no one would have thought it would happen. How could you blame Stephen?"Then, Philip looked at Stephen. "You should talk less too.""As if!" Ar
In the study, Philip asked Stephen for an explanation about Linda. Stephen kept it short. He merely told Philip how he'd found Linda five years ago and her situation abroad. He didn't mention anything about Linda's pregnancy at the time.Philip listened to Stephen quietly, with mixed emotions. After Diane had died in labor, the entire family had been focused on her funeral. No one had paid any attention to the baby, who'd stopped breathing after she was born. Never in their wildest imagination would anyone have thought that the baby had been alive or that she'd been sent abroad by Arthur!The Anderson family's only granddaughter had finally returned. Philip was heartbroken and guilty at the same time. He didn't know what to say. Without knowing it, tears welled up in his eyes. He looked at Stephen and choked up a little. "I—Is she alright?""She's fine," Stephen said, adding nothing else.Philip smiled through his tears. "That's good. That's good." He sounded relieved. After a
Ariel rushed back to Northerna City through the night. The next morning, she went straight to Oceania Villa.The moment she entered, she frantically went up to Stephen. "Stephen, I heard that Ms. Mitchell is your sister. Is she …"Facing Stephen's icy gaze, Ariel subconsciously shut up."You were at the hotel that night too."Hearing the admonishment in his tone, she braced herself and said feebly, "I—I didn't know that Benjamin would do such a thing in the room. I was just about to head out when I heard the door being kicked open. I was so frightened that I didn't dare to go out. I only saw Yvonne through a small gap in the door. I also heard Benjamin screaming …"Ariel explained while observing Stephen's expression. Unfortunately for her, Stephen's face showed no reaction, only a frosty gaze. On her way here, she'd already thought about what she would say and felt like her explanation was flawless. Yet, when she faced Stephen, she lost all confidence in it."Stephen, if I'd
Hence, Jodie decided to go looking for Ariel instead. After Jodie had rung the doorbell many times and almost kicked the door down, Ariel finally opened the door.Seeing Ariel, Jodie was stunned and speechless. Ariel was still in the clothes she'd been wearing when she'd left the film set that day. Her hair was in a mess, and she looked distraught.Ariel turned to return to her room. Jodie quickly followed her. "Ariel, what happened to you? What's going on?""Stephen wants to call off the wedding."Jodie was baffled and grabbed Ariel's hand. "What happened?"Ariel wasn't willing to explain. She merely shook her head. "I won't agree to it.""Is the fight that bad this time? Then, the internet …" Jodie had initially intended to discuss a strategy to overcome the mess with Ariel. She'd been hoping to get Stephen to help quell the producers' and investors' fury.As things stood, that was probably impossible."Why did this happen? What should we do?""Just let it be." Ariel didn'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