The next day, Chuck heard the doorbell ring just as he was done with breakfast.He walked over to the monitor displaying the security footage at the front door. A frown graced his features instantly the moment he saw Yvonne and a group of men behind her on the screen.Soon, he concealed the hint of displeasure in his eyes. He made sure to wear a gentle smile before reaching out to open the door."What brings you here, Ms. Miller?"Chuck's gaze swept across the people standing behind Yvonne. "Oh, I see you brought some friends along! The more, the merrier, eh?"Yvonne couldn't be bothered to make small talk with Chuck. She got straight to the topic. "I've spent the past month or so tracking Gwen down. Based on the clues I dug up, I traveled all the way to the city in the Southwest Region, yet I was unable to find anything there."Chuck looked surprised. "Is that so? It seems that Ms. Hawk is adamant on avoiding you."Yvonne's brows twisted into a light frown. "We were able to f
Yvonne's lips curled into a smirk when she picked up on Chuck's silence. "It appears that you're still keeping in contact with Mark, Mr. Jensen. You two are definitely affiliated with each other in more ways than one."Chuck replied lightly, "Mark and I are merely business partners. Don't overthink it, Ms. Miller.""Really, now? You're already asking for medicine on his behalf. This shows how much you truly care about him. Do you really expect me to believe that you two are just 'business partners'?"Yvonne put down her teacup before leaning leisurely against the back of her chair. "I specifically crafted the drowsy incense for Mark in the past. Now that I think about it, it's been a year since I last gave him some incense. He must have run out by now."She clicked her tongue softly. "It seems that he doesn't want to make the request in person because he's worried that I might threaten him with the supply. That's why he had you do it in his stead, right?"Or perhaps … he has f
That evening, Stephen drove Elvin back to Miller Villa. When he spotted the sullen look on Lloyd's face, he asked, "What happened?"Lloyd shook his head in response. "Nothing. We went to Chuck's place this morning, but we couldn't find anything there. I just feel annoyed, that's all.""Seriously, Lloyd. You've been gloomy the whole day." Yvonne's amused voice drifted from behind Lloyd.Stephen looked at her, a small smile now playing on his lips. "Are you done with your business?""I wanted to call you at first, but then I remembered that I would get to see you once El is done with school for the day. I might as well save my phone credits for another day."Yvonne then giggled. "Would you like to stay for dinner?""Sure thing."Seeing as Stephen had agreed to the offer instantly, Julian raised his hand as well. "Ms. Miller, may I have a spot at the table as well?""No problem. Come on in."Yvonne led the group into the villa.While Stephen busied himself with preparing the ing
Chuck smiled at Yvonne as he walked into the office. "Hello, Ms. Miller," he said in greeting.Yvonne leaned against her desk, a piece of paper trapped between her fingers. "This is the formula of the drowsy incense that you want, Mr. Jensen."Pleased, Chuck reached out to grab the formula.Unexpectedly, Yvonne curled her fingers instantly, thus balling up the paper in her palm. Naturally, Chuck failed to grab the formula.A glint of anger appeared in his eyes. "What are you doing, Ms. Miller?""I suddenly remembered something," Yvonne stated while pretending to look curiously. "I heard that Mark came to Northerna City. Did he personally come here just to visit you? Did he ask you any questions related to Gwen?""He visited you as well?" Chuck asked instinctively.Yvonne just smiled. "It seems that Mark did ask you about Gwen."Since Mark was a Principal, he kept himself updated with the allocation of human resources within Emerald Group.During this period, Yvonne had arran
Over the following week, Yvonne didn't hear back from Chuck after their meeting.Her men reported back to her during this period of time. None of them could spot anything out of the ordinary. Chuck would either work at home or attend business gatherings. Other than that, all seemed fine.Left without a choice, Yvonne could only wait patiently for the day when Chuck would either fess up or screw up.At the same time, she also caught wind of the news involving Noah and Katie. Rachel had excellent sources when it came to gossip in the upper echelons of society. Apparently, Noah had whisked Katie out of the hospital and into City Hall to divorce her.Katie kept screaming while kicking up a fuss in City Hall the whole time. In the end, a few of Noah's bodyguards had to hold her down and force her to sign the divorce papers.Once the procedure was done, Noah left City Hall swiftly after ditching Katie at the entrance.Rachel exaggerated the details and made the story extremely dram
Yvonne grabbed the documents from Rachel's hands. A similar look of astonishment took over her features the moment she laid her eyes on the contents."You're giving me 50% of Anderson Group's shares?"Those shares were worth hundreds of billions of dollars!It was no wonder Rachel suddenly looked so shocked. Yvonne had literally received a treasure trove, after all.Stephen's calm expression was in stark contrast to the women's shock. "You deserve the reward. Grandpa said you're the one who saved his life. Isn't his life as valuable as the shares?"Besides, Grandpa confiscated these shares from Noah. You helped us out big time, so you should accept the gift no matter what.""Well …" Yvonne frowned in response. "That's not it. You can't give me something this valuable."Stephen replied coolly, "I won't accept things that I've given away. The decision is final.""He's right!" Rachel thrust the empty folder into Yvonne's hands. "Stephen came all the way here just to give you
Noah shot back with a chuckle, "You wouldn't have been able to establish this company without my money in the first place. "Katie Jones, it's in your best interests to not jog my memory about the origins of this company."The sight of the cruel glint in Noah's eyes terrified Katie greatly. She released her hold on his wrist before stumbling backward hastily."Noah, y-you can't do this to me—""Then, pray tell, what should I do to you?"Noah started approaching Katie while snarling out, "When we were still married, you cheated on me with another man. Not to mention, you also caused irreversible damage to my physical constitution. "The fact that you committed those crimes is a good enough reason for me to kick you out without a penny to your name!"We've already gotten our divorce certificates, Katie. There's no need to take the conflict regarding our division of assets to court. You'd better get lost right now if you still have an ounce of rationality in you."The moment Noah
Three days later, Yvonne and Nicole headed toward Euphoria Smith as per the instructions on Noah's invitation.They took the elevator to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors slowly slid open, the first thing the women saw was a large billiard hall. A group of scions were having fun around one of the billiard tables.Of course, Yvonne was quick to spot Finlay, who was tied in front of a billiard table. She couldn't help but frown at the sight.Nicole noticed the man as well. The scene terrified her to the point that she dove behind Yvonne immediately.Finlay looked extremely bruised and battered at that point. His face was swollen, with splotches of black and blue dotting across his skin. Not only that, but he was also covered in his own blood.To make things worse, his jaws were forcibly pried open by two sticks. Drool mixed with blood kept trickling out of his mouth the whole time.At that moment, a billiard was launched in Finlay's direction.Nicole screwed her eyes shut o
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