Completely ignoring Mark, Stephen tugged Elvin and Britney toward the kindergarten and handed them over to the teacher. Mark didn't stop him. With one hand in his pocket, he merely stood there as he stared at Stephen's retreating figure.The teacher observed Mark's unfamiliar face. His intimidating looks were a strong contrast to the peaceful atmosphere in the kindergarten. The teacher couldn't help but ask in concern, "Who's that, Mr. Anderson?""Tell the security to keep an eye on him. Inform me the moment he appears," Stephen instructed. His words all but implied that Mark was a dangerous man. The teacher nodded. "You can rest assured. The children are safe with us."Stephen hummed his assent as he turned around to face Mark. "Follow me."Mark sneered as he watched Stephen walk away. This was still the first time someone else had uttered his line back to him. It was rather refreshing. Mark followed Stephen to the side of the car. He was about to speak when Stephen s
At the police station, Julian pushed the door open hastily. He spotted Stephen at one glance.There were bruises all over Stephen's face, and his suit was discarded at the side of the seat. His shirt was wrinkled, and his sleeves were rolled up to his forearm. His shirt was even missing a few buttons.Still, despite his disheveled appearance, he remained the most eye-catching figure in the room. Never in Julian's wildest dreams would he have imagined that he would need to bail his boss out of the police station over a street fight. This was the cool-headed Stephen they were talking about! Who would have thought he would start a brawl right in front of a kindergarten?Julian had been in disbelief the whole time. But now that he had seen Stephen in person, he was forced to accept reality, as impossible as it seemed.Rushing over to Stephen, he asked, "Mr. Anderson, who did you get into a fight with? How did you end up like this?"Who would dare to beat Stephen up like this?S
The weather was terrible today. Dark clouds cast a heavy atmosphere over the area.A caution tape had been set up by the riverside. The police and firefighters were working together to conduct the search.At the moment, there were several rescue boats on the river and dozens of divers underwater. From time to time, one of the divers would surface, signaling to the people on the boats that they had found nothing.The bright life jackets stood out against the gloomy waters. It wasn't until Yvonne witnessed the scene firsthand that she realized the turbulent river may have truly claimed Gwen's life. A strong gust of wind swept over, nearly knocking Yvonne off balance.The driver held Yvonne steady. "Be careful, Ms. Y."Yvonne composed herself before proceeding slowly toward the riverside. Soon, a man approached her. "Ms. Y, we initiated our search immediately after confirming the luggage was Ms. Hawk's yesterday. It has been 14 hours since then," the man began, lowering his h
Late at night, Yvonne woke up in a daze at the hospital. She tried to raise her hand when someone held it down."Don't move. You're still on an IV," came Stephen's low voice. Yvonne turned her head to meet a pair of eyes filled with concern. She was momentarily taken aback."Am I dreaming?" she murmured softly. "No, you're not." Stephen held Yvonne's hand as he explained slowly, "I couldn't reach you on the phone yesterday, so I came here without waiting for your call." By the time Stephen had arrived, Yvonne had already been taken to the hospital. Even though she was running a high fever and barely conscious, she was still mumbling about saving Gwen. Stephen had asked the men guarding Yvonne about it. It was only then that he learned she had stood by the riverside all afternoon, getting soaked in the rain.Yvonne had always been like this. She would lose all reason whenever the issue concerned anyone close to her. Stephen shouldn't have placed too much trust in Yvonne.
Yvonne took the pocket knife out. "Gwen has this on her at all times! There's no way she would put it in her luggage!"Stephen looked at the pocket knife. He observed it and saw that it was well-used, but … What could this prove?"Gwen has the habit of taking this with her at all times. How could it be in her luggage? Either someone must have packed this for her or …"Yvonne gripped the pocket knife tightly. She wasn't willing to believe the other possibilities."I know that Gwen has been through a lot. But she wouldn't give up her life that easily. Something else must have happened."Stephen wanted to say something, but he was hesitant when he saw how determined Yvonne looked. Just a pocket knife had been able to convince her that Gwen was still safe. She was way too optimistic about this.However, he had seen how Yvonne had lost it the night before. If this pocket knife could give her hope, he wasn't going to destroy it.He pondered for a while before saying, "We'll search t
Stephen accompanied Yvonne and stayed two days by the river.He received a call from Jim on the same day. Since Yvonne was present, he put his phone on loudspeaker."As you guessed, two people snuck into Hope's treatment center. We found a large amount of tranquilizers on them."I handed them over to Curtis. After being tortured by him, they confessed that they were on a bounty mission issued by Emerald Group."Jim was indignant. He said, "Emerald Group is so ruthless! They can't even spare an old man lying in a hospital bed! Aren't they afraid of retribution?""It’s personal behavior, and it has nothing to do with the group," Yvonne reminded Jim casually.Jim was pleasantly surprised to hear Yvonne's voice. "Yvonne, you're there too? Do you two spend every day together now?""We’re together every day at the moment."Yvonne glanced at Stephen and diverted attention back to the topic. "It's easier to investigate if Mark is releasing bounty missions through Emerald Group. "We’l
Jim greeted Stephen at Hope Health Services' headquarters.He handed over the transaction records they had investigated and said, "You've arrived just in time. We just found this."Stephen glanced at it and recognized the name of Noah's assistant. That was the final nail in the coffin for him.Stephen put away the documents and said, "Please take me to Grandpa.""Yvonne informed me before you arrived. Come with me."Jim led Stephen inside while briefly introducing the situation at Hope's headquarters.Jim sighed as he spoke. "I felt put on the spot when Yvonne asked me to take over such a large medical institution. I’m too old for this."But, at the same time, I couldn't let her down when she told me that she relied on me. She trusted me. How could I disappoint her?"Jim sighed softly once more. "I was still capable five years ago. But now, I have to admit that I’m old. My physical and mental state are no longer what they used to be."Stephen could understand what Jim was impl
At the same time, Noah received news from Mark that the mission had failed."How could this be?" Noah was furious. "What kind of people did you assign? Why were they so useless?""They were set up," Mark said with a solemn expression. He had finally figured out everything.People who were capable enough to accept the bounty mission from Emerald Group were difficult to deal with in the first place. But they had been captured soon after they had entered Hope's headquarters.When they had been caught, they had sent a message to Mark's subordinate urgently, informing them that the target was unconscious.There were a few things that could be deduced from such a short message."Mr. Anderson Senior isn't awake. Yvonne deceived you on purpose. She's just forcing you to make a move."Mark realized the problem after he finished speaking. He got annoyed and added, "I should check it out before sending someone over.""What's the point of talking about this now? Those people have been ca