The next morning, Yvonne was still asleep when she woke up to a series of knocks on the door. After tending to Elvin by her side, she draped a jacket over her body and opened the door. In her drowsy eyes, she saw the solemn expression on Stephen's face."What's wrong?""Mrs. Johnson is dead."Hearing that, Yvonne was instantly awake. "What?"She grabbed Stephen's arm, her gaze filled with incredulity. "It's impossible. Wasn't she fine yesterday?""Someone went to the river to fish this morning and found Mrs. Johnson's lifeless body. The riverside is now full of police personnel." "How ..." Yvonne found it hard to believe. She put on her jacket properly and stepped out of her room. "I'll go there and have a look!"The weather was gloomy, and even the air carried a sense of oppressiveness. At this moment, the old bridge was crowded with townspeople, and police had already cordoned off the area. It took Yvonne a while to get to the front of the crowd. Standing behind the p
Once she returned to Northerna City, Yvonne began investigating the records of Jennifer's employment at Miller Jewels. Yet, the HR department found no records of an employee named Jennifer Johnson despite scouring through all the records. It turned out that the HR supervisor reported that Miller Jewels had cleared out a batch of outdated files 20 years ago. Hence, Jennifer's information might have been inadvertently removed as well. Over the course of the past two decades, several batches of employees had worked at Miller Jewels. At this point, it was challenging to find anyone who could remember past employees. With all leads now cut off, Yvonne was frustrated for several days. On Friday morning, Rachel asked her to go to the hospital together. As soon as they met, Rachel noticed Yvonne wasn't in a good mood. "What's wrong? Has work not been going well lately?" Rachel asked. Yvonne shook her head and replied, "No, it's not that. I've been looking into someone, but the le
Ten minutes later, Rachel received some news that left her dumbfounded. "My goodness, can you believe it? Katie has been taking birth control pills, yet she's planning to conceive. Maybe she should consider having her brain checked rather than her uterus."Yvonne sensed something was amiss. "How come someone who's been taking contraceptives ended up at the hospital because of infertility?"Rachel processed Yvonne's words and asked thoughtfully, "Are you saying ... she didn't take the birth control pills voluntarily?""Yeah." Yvonne recalled Katie's expression when she left. It seemed highly likely that the diagnosis had greatly affected her. Yvonne guessed that Noah had resorted to such despicable measures without Katie's knowledge. He had chosen to slip the pills into her drinks rather than openly confront the issue. It was a choice that would inflict even deeper emotional wounds."Isn't it strange?"The wheels in Rachel's head were turning as she contemplated the issue. "Isn
Meanwhile, Yvonne didn’t pay much attention to the encounter with Katie at the hospital. Since the next day was a weekend, she had wanted to sleep in. However, the ringing of the doorbell early in the morning interrupted her peace. Yvonne opened the door and found Stephen standing with a lunch box in his hand. Britney was beside him too."Why are you here again?" Yvonne asked."I made some pastries this morning. I thought I could share it with you," Stephen replied with a smile.Stephen barged in and headed straight to the kitchen. Britney followed in after him, leaving Yvonne astonished at the door."Dad made bread and turned himself into a cat!" Britney ran up to Yvonne and exclaimed with delight. Her face beamed with innocence and cuteness.Yvonne chuckled as she crouched down and hugged Britney. Her heart melted at the sight of the little girl's adorable expression. "Is that so?"Britney nodded her head vigorously and made a cat gesture with her hands. Yvonne couldn't hel
Yvonne didn't send Stephen off when he left for his trip the next day. Instead, she sat in the office, staring blankly out the floor-to-ceiling windows.Memories of the time she had spent with Stephen filled her mind. In her daze, she saw Stephen's face appear before her as if in a daydream. She shook her head vigorously, clearing away the jumbled thoughts.Just then, Nicole entered the office. She presented the latest collection's design drafts for the upcoming season to Yvonne. Yvonne rubbed her temples and gestured to the empty seat at the table. "Put them aside for now. I'll take a look later."Following Yvonne's instruction, Nicole placed the design drafts aside. Then, she carefully brought up another matter. "Have you heard about Katie Jewels' latest brand ambassador?"Yvonne raised an eyebrow. "The brand has just been introduced. Yet they managed to secure a brand ambassador so quickly?""It seems their boss has taken on the role.""What?" Yvonne laughed. "Is Katie u
After their discussion about the charity auction, Yvonne and Carmen finished their meal at the restaurant. As they stepped outside, Carmen asked about Yvonne's grandfather's condition. "How is Mr. Anderson Senior doing?" Yvonne let out a helpless smile. "No news about his condition is probably the best news." Carmen's expression fell when she heard that, but she quickly brightened up. "Don't be so pessimistic. I believe in Hope and, more importantly, in you. He will surely wake up sooner or later." Yvonne agreed with a nod, "I hope so too." Yvonne watched Carmen get into the car and leave. A gust of evening wind blew, making her shiver from the cold.Just then, Yvonne's phone chimed with a message from Stephen. "Why didn't you ask if I had arrived safely?" Yvonne could almost sense the concern in the message. She typed her reply while walking toward the parking lot. "There were no reports of any plane accidents yesterday." Stephen furrowed his brows upon receiving Yv
The auction began at approximately 8 pm.Under Yvonne’s supervision, Xenia’s Auction had prepared a total of 12 items for the auction, all of which she had acquired from collectors over the years. The items had greatly appreciated in value over time. The decorative labels also helped to add value to the items.Only Yvonne herself would know how profitable each and every item had become.She peeked at the auction below, where the rich were bidding for the items. She could almost hear the jingle of the cash registers, which put her in a good mood. She swung her legs lightly.Her high heels dangled from her toes. Her stockinged legs seductively showed under her dress.Suddenly, Katie’s booming voice echoed across the hall as she increased the bid. She was obviously drunk.The entire hall gasped as Katie increased the bid by five million dollars in one go.From where she sat, Yvonne could clearly see Noah pulling Katie’s arm down.However, Katie merely inched closer to Noah and w
With that in mind, Katie took a deep breath and confidently gave the speech she had prepared.She was a natural on stage. Her graceful gestures conveyed her affluence.The crowd applauded once more as she finished her speech.Katie's hand was sweaty as she held the microphone, but she felt elated.She raised her eyebrow provocatively at Yvonne in the crowd.Carmen then retrieved the microphone. "Of course, we would like to thank our esteemed guests and Xenia's Auction for providing the items for tonight's auction.""And now, let us invite the director of Xenia's Auction, Ms. Yvonne Miller, to give a speech."The blood drained from Katie's face when she heard this. She gaped at Carmen while wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her.There was no way Yvonne was the director of Xenia's Auction!Noah was also taken aback but managed to maintain his composure as he dragged Katie off the stage.It was Yvonne's turn on stage. It would be awkward for them to linger.Katie's h