Cecilia smirked coldly. "Since I'm here, I intend to take what's mine before leaving."As she took a step forward, the man beside Zachary immediately blocked her path."Sorry, but as per Mr. Turner's orders, aside from the master of this house, no outsiders are allowed. If anyone tries to sneak in, we have enough armed men here to accidentally fire a shot. It'd be unfortunate if someone got hurt, and we don't want that."Cecilia could not miss the threat in his words and could only respond with a forced smile. She cursed inwardly, 'Zach, you actually had Fred guarding the Southern Haven Villas! Very well! We shall see how long Fred can protect it. Once I find Madelyn, I'll bring her corpse to you.'As Cecilia was leaving, her eyes caught a glimpse of a child held by a servant at the third-floor window. Her eyes suddenly widened in shock. 'That child... No... It can't be. It must be my imagination. That child is supposed to be dead. Surely, it's just my imagination.'Cecilia felt a
Under the unpredictable wrath of Cecilia, Susan hurriedly fled the office. Shortly afterward, Cecilia received an anonymous call.The caller said, "We did as you asked and found an underground organization. Why didn't you mention they were associated with the Jent family? Now we've offended them, which means we've offended Mr. Jardin of the Jardin Corporation. If he seeks retribution, we have no way out. You're pushing us into a pit of fire!"Cecilia was indifferent to their plight. "Where are the items I asked for? Why haven't you found them yet?""The items you want? We've turned the place upside down and found nothing. We're going to lay low for a while. You should find someone else for your tasks," the caller said before hurriedly ending the call."A bunch of useless fools," Cecilia muttered, scattering the documents on her desk in frustration. Her face twisted in malevolence. "Zach, you brought in Fred's people to protect Madelyn and that adopted child. Don't think this will s
"No, let's wait until tomorrow. I've studied the security system here. Without the specific key, the alarm will be triggered, drawing the police. That won't be good for us," said one of the suspicious men.Blake heard their conversation and the fading footsteps as they disappeared at the end of the corridor. Only after they were completely gone did she let her guard down. Closing her eyes, she felt as if all her strength had been sapped away. She slid down the wall, feeling like a survivor in the aftermath of a crisis.That night, with a dagger in hand, she remained half-dozed, half-awake. The heating was off, so she wrapped herself tightly in a black down jacket to ward off the cold. The barking of stray dogs awoke her the next morning. It was only seven o'clock. Recalling the previous night's events, Blake immediately called the police.After the police arrived promptly, Blake showed them the surveillance footage on Kevin's computer. The two officers tried to identify the suspects
Cecilia thought to herself, 'I may not be able to confront Fred directly, but I dare you, Blake, to stay in Southern Haven Villas indefinitely.'When Blake stepped out of the police car at Southern Haven Villas, she was initially barred from entering. However, a middle-aged woman called out from behind, "Let her in, young man. I know her. She's a good person." It was Margaret, holding Dalton.Zachary compared the photos and, after receiving information from a guard, permitted Blake to enter.As Blake entered, she noticed someone hiding in the bushes with a camera. She shouted, "There's someone in the bushes taking pictures! Catch him!"The discovered photographer attempted to flee, but Zachary fired a warning shot, declaring, "Run again, and the next bullet won't miss."The loud bang startled the birds in the forest and caused the photographer, now terrified, to wet himself and fall to the ground. Blake hurried over and checked his camera, finding it full of pictures of Dalton.F
Blake was stunned as she watched Dalton in overalls playing with toys on the floor near the couch. She had not paid much attention to him during the wedding, but now, observing closely, her eyes widened in shock."Is Dalton really the one Mr. Jardin adopted from the doorstep of an orphanage? Not a child he had with another woman? Or did Madelyn forget that she had a child?" Blake asked.Margaret, taken aback by her questions, clarified, "Oh, no, no, you can't just say things like that! Mr. Jardin's assistant can verify that Dalton was indeed adopted. He was brought home so Ms. Jent wouldn't feel lonely and had someone to accompany her. Dalton does resemble Mr. Jardin and Ms. Jent, but it could just be a coincidence. There are many unexplainable occurrences in the world."Blake asked, "May I hold him?"As soon as she spoke, Dalton seemed to understand and toddled over to Blake, extending his arms. His adorable behavior melted her heart. Observing him closely, she could not help but
Blake spent several peaceful days at Southern Haven Villas, and before she realized it, the five-day holiday had swiftly passed. Despite sending numerous messages to Kevin, she received no response. She even informed him of her intention to conduct a paternity test on Dalton, but still, there was silence from his end.Accustomed to this lack of communication, Blake set her phone down after sending today's message. Unbeknownst to her, her phone was being monitored, and all her texts were intercepted by Cecilia.At Jardin Corporation, Cecilia looked at the computer screen displaying Blake's messages and smirked. "You're really devoted to him, aren't you, Blake? What's so special about Kevin that keeps you so fixated?"Cecilia was curious about the depth of Kevin's feelings for Blake. After allowing Blake a few days of freedom, she decided it was time for Blake to face some challenges.Using Kevin's phone number, Cecilia sent an address to Blake without any further explanation, then s
Dazed and bleeding, Blake noticed Cecilia in a slit dress sitting elegantly on a couch with a glass of red wine in her hand, as if she had been anticipating this moment.Cecilia put down her foot and leaned over with a grace that concealed her malicious intent. She lifted Blake's chin with her red-nailed finger, as Blake struggled to maintain consciousness, her mind reeling."Poor thing, bleeding already? Let me help disinfect that wound," Cecilia said in a sinister tone, her eyes turning cold as she poured the red wine over Blake's bleeding forehead. The stinging pain caused Blake to struggle."Still trying to struggle? Hold her down!" Cecilia commanded.Two burly men stepped forward, pinning Blake's legs down with their feet. In agony, Blake screamed, "Ms. Samford, what are you doing? I haven't wronged you. Why are you doing this?"Cecilia's eyes sparkled with sadistic pleasure. "Blake, are you really that naive, or just pretending? You chose to oppose me instead of following my
After the brutal torture, Blake lay on the ground, barely clinging to life, her eyes closed in exhaustion. She coughed up blood and eventually lost consciousness.As time passed, Cecilia grew impatient after not receiving the response she expected. Standing up, she stepped on Blake's chest and began taking pictures of the injured Blake on the ground.An overweight man commented, "This woman's tough. She didn't beg for mercy even once. But if she dies, we'll be in some legal trouble, ma'am.""Don't worry, she's not dead yet," Cecilia reassured him.At that moment, a skinny man received an urgent message. "We've got a traitor among us. Our location's been leaked to the police, and they're on their way."With the police closing in, the criminals, who were already on the wanted list, began to panic."You guys take her with you," Cecilia ordered, still hoping Kevin wouldn't abandon Blake.In a cold, damp basement, Blake lay unconscious, tasting a bitter flavor in her mouth as she dri