Since Charles had been caught red-handed, he could only come clean to Stephen.Stephen's gaze darkened. "Have you ever thought that if this thing hadn't gone as planned, you might have dragged Yvonne, an outsider, into this as well?"Charles felt a little guilty, so he didn't dare look Stephen in the eyes. He said softly, "I really didn't know who else to ask for help other than Yvonne. Luckily, I went to her for help this time. She used to be part of Emerald Group. She knows how they work best—""I think you still haven't caught my drift." Stephen coldly interrupted. "No matter what, we should deal with our family matters on our own. You …""I know you're worried about Yvonne's safety, and you don't want to cause her trouble." Hearing what Charles said, Stephen paused for a while before saying, "Good. You know.""Stephen, since you still care about Yvonne so much, don't lose her again."Charles looked at Stephen and said seriously, "Yvonne's a great girl. She has helped us s
The Anderson family's fiasco had come to a standstill for the time being.Yvonne had spent some time working on Miller Jewels. Luckily, there wasn't much left to do. She had instructed Nicole on the most important things and reminded her to make sure the news was released on time to maximize exposure.After arranging for her work to be done, Yvonne decided to head to Emerald Group's headquarters three days earlier.Before she left, Yvonne talked to Elvin. She'd never thought that he would be used to her suddenly going on business trips. He even patted her on the shoulder and said, "Mommy, you go and get busy. I'll stay with Uncle Curtis and Uncle Lloyd."Yvonne didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She hugged Elvin. "As long as you take care of yourself, I’m more than happy."All these years, she hadn't been able to spend much time with Elvin since she was often away on business trips. When they had returned to Qynea, she had finally been able to spend all day with Elvin. She
Yvonne didn't say yes to Stephen. She snatched her luggage from him and glared at him."You're an outsider. You have no right to join the Annual Executive Meeting. Stop causing trouble for me," Yvonne said, leaving with Gwen.In the car, Gwen was just about to ask Yvonne about Stephen when Yvonne asked, "Have Claude and Leonard arrived?"Gwen was a little stunned. Then, she nodded. "They have been staying in the hotel, but the entire hotel has been booked. Emerald Group is guarding the hotel tightly. I don't think you can get in.""If I can't get in, I'll wait for them to come out." Yvonne leaned back. "I don't think Claude and Leonard are the type who can stay cooped up."…Sure enough, the next afternoon, Gwen told Yvonne about Claude and Leonard heading out to play golf. She even sent Yvonne the address for where they would be.Yvonne headed over to see them enter the golf course. She stopped right in front of them and smiled. "Leonard, Claude, it's been a long time."Leon
Stephen turned to look at Yvonne. "I'm helping you."Yvonne was enraged. "I don't need your help.""So, I'll leave?""You …" Yvonne pulled him back forcefully. She said through gritted teeth, "Don't you dare!"He had already made himself known. If he were to leave right now, Leonard and Claude would probably get suspicious!Stephen was in a pleasant mood after teasing Yvonne. "I've looked into them. I found out that they like to play golf whenever they get together, so I booked the entire golf course to wait for them.""Why are you looking into them? You—""I've told you. I want to help you." Stephen looked at her so sincerely that Yvonne felt rather uneasy. She looked away and grumbled, "I don't need your help. Stay out of this."Stephen ignored her. He shrugged Yvonne off and quickly followed Leonard and the others.Yvonne wasn't really interested in golf. She followed along while listening to them happily chat about golf. She felt a little bored.The golf course was hu
Meanwhile, Yvonne pulled Stephen over. She questioned him with furrowed brows. "Why are you going to the Annual Executive Meeting?"Stephen looked into Yvonne's eyes. "How many times do you want me to tell you?""Then, how many times do you want me to warn you?" Yvonne sounded exasperated. "Don't you know what sort of organization Emerald Group is? Don't you know the type of people you're going up against? Even the two old men you saw just now. They're extremely cunning!""Even if I'm heading into the lion's den, if you're going, I'm going too." Stephen continued, "Also, I'm not doing this for you. Emerald Group came after my grandfather. I'm not going to let it go just like that.""But …" Yvonne hesitated. "I can help you talk to them about this, but—"Stephen snickered. "Getting a woman to help me fight my battles? How much of a wuss do you think I am? I fought hard to attend the Annual Executive Meeting. You have no right to stop me. Who are you to stop me?"Stephen leaned
They entered a room. The server sent in some fruits and alcohol before leaving the room and closing the door.Instantly, the room was silent.Claude started a topic, recounting how fun it was to play golf with Stephen the other day."You sure hid your identity well! We only found out that you're the CEO of Anderson Group when we went back and looked into you!"Stephen nodded. "Compared to the two of you, my achievements are nothing."Leonard exclaimed, "You're being too modest!"Listening to their conversation, Mark raised an eyebrow with interest. "Mr. Anderson, I don't think you came all the way here just for a round of golf, right?"Stephen looked at Mark with an equally pompous stance. "I'm here to see you too. You promised to work together, yet you hurt my family. Aren't you going to give me an explanation?"Mark chuckled nonchalantly. "Mr. Anderson, what are you talking about? I have no idea. When did I hurt your family?""My grandfather fell into the lake, and then ther
Mark had no intention of looking in her bag. He choked Yvonne even harder. Yvonne continued to look at him firmly.When she was on the brink of suffocation, Yvonne suddenly had an illusion. She seemed to have seen Mark when he was young. He'd had a lollipop in his mouth.Leonard rebuked, "Enough! Are you really going to murder someone right in front of our eyes?"Mark let go. His expression was ugly.Leonard looked at the documents in Yvonne's bag. They were all the clients that Hope Health Services had served all these years. On top of that, there were reports on the profit that Hope and Miller Jewels had made.Money wasn't the main thing. The most important thing was the connections. Hope was internationally renowned. The people that they were in contact with were way beyond Emerald Group's imagination.If Yvonne became a Principal, Emerald Group would surely advance with the resources she had.Leonard and Claude looked at each other. Leonard said in all seriousness, "Clau
Later, Yvonne asked the server to bring her a first-aid kit. She stitched up Stephen's wound herself.Thanks to the numbing cream, Stephen no longer felt pain. He let Yvonne work on his wound while he scrolled through the internet with his other hand.Just as Yvonne had said, she was all over the internet at the moment.First, it was Miller Jewels. They announced that they would donate 70% of their profits from the year-end collection to Tara Foundation.Then, there was news about a gala that the founders of Tara Foundation were holding. They invited all the women entrepreneurs Tara Foundation had invested in to come and share their success stories.The gala was broadcast live to the public, showing them that many women had their lives changed because of the Tara Foundation!Everyone was singing praises for Yvonne at that moment. Her name was trending on the internet, and it was still gaining traction.Mark couldn't do anything to Yvonne when she had such high-profile attention.
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