"I don't know either," Alicia replied.Regis's eagle-eyed gaze immediately honed in sharply on his sister. "You don't know?"The girl rolled her eyes lazily. She snatched her phone back from her brother's hand and said, "Seriously annoying! Do I have no privacy left at all?"Alicia's protest went unnoticed by Regis."I'm almost 18, Brother. Stop treating me like a child!" Alicia continued, her face contorted with resentment."Still two months to go," Regis retorted, turning his sister's earlier statement around.Alicia grunted in frustration. She had no intention of explaining what she was doing to her brother.Her lips pursed in a sour expression, she simply stared at her phone screen to avoid looking at her brother.Regis's eyebrows furrowed."You're not dating a girl, are you, Alicia?" Regis queried with doubt, concerned that his sister might have deviant behavior.Alicia's blue eyes widened.Her gaze reminded Regis of their late mother, who had passed away when Alicia was about the
"He's Johannes Brown, my husband."A young woman with an extravagant appearance, dressed provocatively, suddenly interrupted the conversation to introduce the man standing next to her.The woman was Lisa Taylor, the mother of Benjamin Brown, who had previously clashed with Amora. She proudly introduced her husband and flirtatiously smiled at Regis.Johannes frowned. His face showed slight displeasure at his wife's overly flirtatious behavior."Mr. Brown is my deputy, Mr. Lorenzo," Larry explained with a cheerful smile."My father is David Brown. You must know him as he has met you at several meetings," Johannes said confidently.Regis didn't respond. He just looked at Larry sharply, making it clear that he didn't like the couple blocking his way and view."Mrs. Brown, let's sit down and talk," Larry quickly suggested, clearing his throat as a signal to Johannes.Seeing this, Johannes retracted his ignored hand and pulled his wife aside to make way for Regis and Larry.Without a word,
Larry was shocked by Regis's statement about the missing student. He looked back at his assistant and asked sharply, "Miss Smith, didn't you see him clearly earlier?"Eva jumped in surprise. She nervously wrung her hands, her face pale as a sheet of paper."E-earlier, there was a boy who left. He said he wasn't feeling well and asked to go to the restroom. I thought he didn't want the scholarship because his parents weren't here either," Eva replied anxiously.Regis raised an eyebrow. He indeed hadn't seen Amora in the room. He had hoped to meet both of them on the way to the school, but that hope vanished due to the school's negligence.Regis felt something was off about Amora and Rayden. He suspected someone was trying to prevent them from meeting him.Earlier, Rayden Lysander, Amora's son, had been in the room. Regis had seen him correctly.However, unbeknownst to Regis, Lisa had kicked the boy out. Johannes Brown's wife was disgusted by Rayden's presence.Before Regis arrived, Lis
Larry looked blankly at the boy still smiling brightly in front of Regis."What is this boy's name?"Larry asked his assistant, Eva Smith, about the boy who dared to call Regis "Uncle Iron Man." He was utterly shocked and embarrassed to have shown something so inappropriate to his distinguished guest."His name is Rayden Lysander, a first-grader," Eva whispered."Ahem! Rayden Lysander," Larry called to the boy.Rayden's attention shifted from Regis to the middle-aged man. His eyes blinked in confusion."What did you just say? Haven't your parents taught you any manners on how to address others?" Larry asked, immediately judging the boy.The smile on Rayden's face slowly faded. The light in his eyes dimmed. He didn't answer the question, fearing his response would spark more rumors around him.Lisa's lips curled into a
Although he had been directly shouted at and expelled, Amora's son still raised his face and stared sharply at Benjamin's parents.The boy knew that everyone, especially Benjamin's mother, must be very happy to see him humiliated and kicked out in such a disgraceful manner."I will leave. I don't want a scholarship that judges someone based on one-sided statements like this!"Alicia's blue eyes widened. Reflexively, the girl stood up and gave a loud round of applause for Rayden's words.Alicia gave a double thumbs-up for the boy's defiant attitude. She liked Rayden's defiance against the adults who had cornered him.She deeply understood Rayden's position because she also disliked being treated badly and humiliated like this. In Alicia's observation, the school foundation's officials were overreacting.Alicia felt the officials had no right to give a public warning in front of everyone to a child who was still struggling to understand the good and bad of the situation.She thought the
"I think they're already doubting your choice, Brother."Alicia's sharp remark, deliberately stirring things up, drew Larry and Johannes's gazes to her. The two men felt very annoyed and angry, but they didn't dare to express it directly to the girl.Seeing their expressions, trying to hold back their anger, Alicia couldn't stop laughing. She thought they looked like funny clowns."Oh really?" Regis raised an eyebrow. He didn't show any expression.Even though Regis knew his sister was deliberately toying with the school foundation officials, he could use the situation to corner them further."No, Young Master Lorenzo. We would never doubt you," Johannes quickly denied.Lisa nudged her husband's arm. She looked upset because her husband had ruined her plan to humiliate Rayden. However, she couldn't say a word because Regis Lorenzo wasn't someone they could un
"I am very pleased with your incredible enthusiasm. I am sure the dreams you aspire to will come true," Regis said, ending his meeting with the students of Sunrise School.The students immediately applauded, showing their gratitude and appreciation for Regis's words.One by one, they shook Regis's hand after he handed out the certificates symbolizing the scholarships, and then they began to leave the room.Alicia also left. She felt she had seen enough of the interesting show. Mark had to follow her out, worried she might cause more trouble.Regis wanted to follow his sister out of the room, but Larry called out to him."Young Master Lorenzo, we haven't finished our discussion. Didn't you promise to talk about our cooperation after the scholarship ceremony?" Larry asked, reminding Regis.However, Regis gave a wry smile. He looked at Larry sharply and replied,
“I-I’m sorry. I was rude to call you that earlier,” Rayden murmured, looking down.“I know you must be angry because of me. I made you embarrassed in front of everyone,” Rayden continued.He had slipped up earlier. Since their first meeting, he never expected to meet the man who had become his ideal father figure.Because of his spontaneous action earlier, Benjamin’s mother considered him rude. Rayden did regret his behavior, although he was reluctant to admit it.Regis smiled, then gently patted the boy’s head and said, “Who said I was embarrassed? In what way did you see me angry, hm?”Rayden looked up anxiously and asked, “You’re really not mad, Uncle?”Regis’s smile deepened. “No. Why would I be angry? Is calling me that an insult?” he said, making Rayden admire him
"T-That person ... isn't Grandma?!" Amora's mind reeled in shock.The woman who looked like an old lady was actually one of Diego’s men in disguise!Amora had been tricked. “So that means ... Regis ….”She bit her trembling lip hard. Regis had been right all along. This whole thing was a trap, set up by Diego’s men. Their one and only goal was to lure in Amora and Regis and eliminate them.Amora’s body trembled with dread as the truth hit her. Because of her stubbornness and ignorance, Regis had now become their main target.Several of Jack’s men, who had been lying in wait, finally stepped out of hiding and surrounded Regis, guns raised and ready.Back to Regis’s situation—Amora’s husband showed no sign of surprise at the ambush by Jack and his dozens of armed men.Jack, on the other hand, looked genuinely confused by Regis’s calm demeanor. “You already knew about the disguise?” he asked, aiming his gun right at Regis’s face.A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Regis’s lips. “That d
"A trap?" Amora whispered, shocked. Once again, she had nearly made a foolish move.Regis gave her a small, knowing smile as he saw her surprised face. "I think from the very beginning, my father planned to target you for breaking your promise," Regis explained, sharing his theory with his wife.Amora’s face turned pale. She realized that her mistake had caused everything to spiral out of control. “But Regis … if this really is a trap, what about Grandma? I—”"I’ll count to ten! If you don’t come out, I’ll take it as your agreement to send Old Madam Lysander to the afterlife!" Jack shouted again, his threat loud and clear.Amora’s eyes widened in panic, her mind clouded by fear. She was terrified Diego’s men might actually carry out that threat if she didn’t come out of hiding.But Regis held her hand firmly and shook his head. “Leave everything to me, Amora,” he said, still trying to calm her down."But Regis ...."Sensing what she wanted to say just from her eyes, Regis continued, “
"Aaaahhh!"Amora’s scream echoed through the forest, followed by a rapid burst of gunfire. Birds took to the skies in a frenzy, their alarmed chirps blending with the chaos as they fled their disturbed habitat.Her face went pale. For a moment, Amora thought she was going to die—right then and there. But she didn’t.“Re-Regis, you .…” Her voice cracked, disbelief evident in her eyes. She hadn’t expected Regis to throw himself in front of her, shielding her with his own body.Tears welled up in Amora’s eyes and started to fall. She thought Regis had taken the bullet meant for her—he wasn’t moving at all.But Regis was just in shock. His face was as pale as hers, convinced for a second that Jack had shot him. Yet, he didn’t feel anything aside from a small scratch on his arm.Slowly, Regis let go of Amora. He could see the fear in her hazel eyes, reflecting his own face. But now wasn’t the time for comforting words. His priority was making sure they were safe.As he looked around, Regis
Finally, the taxi Regis was riding in came to a stop near a narrow trail that led into the mountains, surrounded by dense forest. Amora also asked her driver to stop, just a short distance behind the taxi ahead. She pulled out all the cash she had and handed it to the driver.“Sir, if you don’t mind, could you wait here for me? If I’m not back within fifteen minutes, please contact the authorities,” Amora said, her voice tense.The driver gave her a small nod after accepting the money. As soon as she stepped out of the car, the driver pulled out his phone and dialed a number.It didn’t take long for the call to connect, and a deep male voice came through the speaker—it was Alejandro Volker!That’s right—the taxi driver who had been taking Amora around was actually one of Alejandro’s men in disguise: Hank Watts.For the past week, Alejandro had sent Hank to tail Amora, using various disguises to monitor her every move and report back.Today, Hank happened to be undercover as a cab driv
Mark's car had just pulled up at the arrival gate. He glanced at his young master, who was resting his eyes in the backseat.Regis looked exhausted. For the past two nights, he’d been tied up in a series of private meetings with Royal Dragon’s subordinates, carefully planning the strategy to take over the power held by Diego Lorenzo.At this point, Regis and a few of his loyal aides had managed to secure the support of some underlings willing to serve him. However, there were still others who refused, afraid of becoming the target of Diego’s wrath if their plan was ever exposed.“We’ve arrived, Young Master,” Mark said, gently waking his superior.Regis slowly opened his eyes and took a moment to assess his surroundings before stepping out of the car. Standing by the departure entrance, he spotted Albert waiting to greet him.“Have you found Old Madam Lysander yet?” Regis asked bluntly.“Not yet, Young Master. We have no idea where she’s heading. My team and I had to split up to searc
The tension in the Royal Dragon leader’s office was palpable. Everyone’s face had gone pale when Pablo Varon returned with a report that darkened Diego Lorenzo’s expression.“What did you just say?” Diego asked, his tone cold and sharp.“I’m sorry, Boss. I failed to take Miss Lysander with me. The young master showed up and took her away first,” Pablo replied, bowing his head deeply.Diego stood from his chair and approached Pablo. He placed a hand on Pablo’s shoulder and gripped it hard.“How long have you worked for me, Pablo? And you still can’t handle a single woman? Are you trying to disgrace the name of Royal Dragon, huh?” Diego hissed, a cynical smirk curling his lips.Pablo could feel his boss’s rage and disappointment. “I’m truly sorry, Sir. I’m ready to accept any punishment,” he said, dropping to his knees in front of Diego.From the beginning, Pablo had known the risks of letting the young master’s wife go. He never once thought of escaping the consequences.“My ungrateful
“H-How did you find out about this?” Amora mumbled, still feeling dazed.She had tried so hard to hide her pregnancy complications from Regis. She didn’t want his excitement over the baby to waver because of it.“You don’t need to know how I found out,” Regis said firmly. “All you need to know is that I’m never going to let you go, Amora.”His eyes burned with anger at his wife’s deception. But a few seconds later, his gaze softened.Regis took both of Amora’s hands in his and looked at her gently. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he saw the regret in her eyes.He let out a quiet sigh and spoke gently, “I hope you won’t make the same foolish mistake again, Amora. I know my father crossed the line this time. But please, trust me … I’m going to stop him.”Amora’s hazel eyes were still wet with tears. “But how can you stop him, Regis? Grandma’s already been taken to the airport, and .…”Her voice cracked as her sobs took over. Seeing his wife cry, Regis actually smiled.
“Regis, your father actually had a reason for doing all of this.”Amora’s words made Regis frown for a moment, but then he let out a short, dry chuckle.“A reason? What reason could he possibly have other than wanting to control his rebellious son?” Regis scoffed.Just like Amora once had, Regis had no idea about the real reason behind his father’s constant efforts to keep them apart.Seeing the hatred in Regis’s eyes whenever he mentioned Diego Lorenzo, Amora finally decided to share what Diego had once told her.She thought maybe—just maybe—it would help lessen Regis’s hatred toward his father. She could’ve easily kept it to herself, letting Regis continue to resent Diego as payback for everything that man had done to her.But her conscience wouldn’t let her pretend she didn’t know the truth.“Regis … your father did all this out of hatred and revenge toward my dad,” Amora said, leaving Regis completely stunned and confused.“What do you mean, Amora?” Regis asked, his gaze narrowing
Seeing the deep regret on Amora’s face, Regis let out a sharp sigh. He hadn’t meant to scold her. He just wanted her to understand how her actions affected them both.Regis tried to keep his emotions in check, not wanting to lash out. He knew Amora was clearly torn and dealing with a difficult inner conflict.“Haven’t I told you time and time again not to carry everything on your own, Amora?” Regis reminded her gently.Amora didn’t respond. Her head remained lowered until Regis reached out, cupped her chin, and lifted her face so their eyes could meet again.The look in Regis's eyes, which looked shady and sad, made Amora feel both comforted and hurt because she felt guilty for hurting him with the divorce papers she’d filed.“I’m your husband, Amora. Didn’t we agree to face all our struggles together? Can’t you give me just a little time to prove that I can turn this around without asking you to sacrifice everything?” Regis asked, his voice soft but full of emotion.He still believed