"Forget it," Noelle quickly said. "There's no point in me asking when he obviously doesn't want to tell me."Beatrice hadn't expected the conversation to take this turn. She was about to explain on Hendrix's behalf when Noelle took Rosie's hand. "Let's go rest over there."Rosie nodded eagerly at Noelle's suggestion. She had been riding for a while, and her cheeks were flushed from the sun.Beatrice watched them leave, then quietly pulled out her phone to send a message to Hendrix.…"I'm in Tilwick. It'll probably take two or three days to handle things here. You and Rosie should stay at Sienna Villa for now. I'll pick you up when I get back.""I'm at the airport.""The plane is about to take off.""Just got off the plane. Heading to the hotel now."…These were the messages Hendrix sent to Noelle throughout his trip. He even included several photos corresponding to each update.Noelle stared at the endless stream of messages, her fingers hovering over the screen for a mome
Hendrix's voice was low, and when it came through the video call, it carried an extra layer of magnetism.Noelle paused for a moment, then asked, "Have you been drinking?""How did you know?" Hendrix chuckled, then showed her where he was. "Look. The dinner's not over yet."He was standing in a hallway, with classic oil paintings hanging on the walls. To the side was a slightly ajar private room door.Noelle fell silent, her brows furrowing slightly."Don't worry. I'll be leaving soon," Hendrix said, as if reading her thoughts. "The people inside are from Tilwick's television station. I needed to discuss some matters with them and thought I might as well treat them to dinner."He then added, "They're all men."Noelle let out a soft laugh, as if she found his clarification amusing.Hendrix raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you want to come?""What?""I've noticed the scenery here is quite nice," Hendrix continued.Noelle frowned. "Have you handled everything?""Yeah, it's pre
Noelle turned to look at Rosie.She was pouting unhappily. But when she locked eyes with Noelle, she thought for a moment and then said, "Mommy, I want a little sister, not a little brother."…In the end, Noelle went to the airport alone. On the way, she happened to pass by a flower shop and decided to go inside to buy a bouquet of flowers. It wasn't until she was standing at the airport with the flowers in her hand that she realized something was off.Why was she giving Hendrix flowers? But since she had already bought them, it seemed wasteful to throw them away. Thus, she continued to hold them as she waited.The flight arrived soon enough. Noelle watched as passengers began to stream out, but Hendrix was nowhere to be seen.She couldn't help but frown. Just as she was about to call him, an unfamiliar number popped up on her screen.For some reason, her heart skipped a beat when she saw that number.She answered the call. "Hello?""Is this Mrs. Freeman?" It was a woman's
Hendrix was currently in the living room, facing the courtyard. The front gate was tightly shut. Several men stood guard in the courtyard, clutching hoes and hammers, ready to stop him if he tried to make a run for it.Hendrix found their vigilance almost laughable. Even if they hadn't been standing guard, he had no intention of trying to escape—because there was simply no need.He leisurely sipped his coffee, then turned to the man in front of him, Tony Gill. "If you had asked for five million dollars from the beginning, I might have agreed to it. But you didn't. That's because someone's been guiding you behind the scenes, isn't it? And you stand to gain more from them than from me."Hendrix's voice was calm, his lips curling into a faint smile as he stared confidently at Tony.Tony's eyes widened slightly."Is there more to your brother's death than meets the eye?" Hendrix continued."What nonsense are you talking about? My brother died because of you. That's all there is to it
"You've been sitting here for so long, so you must be hungry, right?" May Dawson said as she tried to shove the bowl into Hendrix's hands. "Now, hurry up and eat it."Hendrix immediately frowned and pulled his arm away, knocking the bowl of instant noodles to the floor. "Don't touch me!"May froze.Hearing the commotion, Tony rushed in from outside. "May, are you okay?"As he spoke, he grabbed May's hand, his concern evident.May pulled her hand back nervously. "It's nothing. I just accidentally spilled the noodles."Hearing this, Tony glanced at the floor. When he saw the spilled noodles, his eyes turned red. Then, he glared at Hendrix. "You ungrateful bastard!"Hendrix didn't respond. He simply stared back at Tony expressionlessly.Tony was clearly the one standing, and his men were all outside, armed with hoes and other tools. Yet, they found themselves completely overpowered by Hendrix's presence alone.As the two sides stood at a stalemate, a voice suddenly came from outs
Hendrix frowned at the sound. When he looked up, the man casually removed the baseball cap from his head.Everyone in the room was stunned. Because the man's features were almost identical to Hendrix's.But years of exposure to the elements and life's hardships had left his skin rough and tanned, his voice hoarse and unpleasant.While everyone else was staring at Nathan's face, Hendrix's gaze slowly drifted downward to his feet. As if knowing what Hendrix was thinking, Nathan smiled and pulled up his pant legs. There, attached to his knees, were prosthetic legs.Realization finally dawned on Hendrix. "So, you're not dead, after all," he said softly.Nathan continued to smile. "Yeah, I'm not dead. Are you disappointed?"Hendrix didn't respond. Instead, he glanced at the man still pinned under his foot. "Is he the one you've been working with? Probably not, right? You don't seem to recognize him, either."Then, he turned his attention back to Nathan. "And you should still be abroa
"There's no other way, Tony," Nathan said. "Look around you. These are all men who've worked alongside you for years. Can you really bear to see them all go to prison?"And let's not forget—you're responsible for your own brother's death. Did you honestly think you'd walk away unscathed? If you die now, at least May might have a chance at a better life."As Nathan spoke, he glanced at the woman beside him. May's face was filled with terror, and her eyes were bloodshot. As if realizing what he was about to do, she shook her head frantically.Tony gritted his teeth and finally said, "Don't worry about me! Kill Hendrix first!"At his words, those who had been hesitating immediately charged forward.Hendrix's expression darkened. He first kicked Tony away, then grabbed a wooden chair nearby. Next, he pulled a lighter from his pocket.He had actually quit smoking a long time ago, but he still kept the lighter Noelle gave him on him at all times. The switch was still responsive, and wi
The fire spread quickly.The houses in this area were all connected, so when one caught fire, the neighboring ones were soon engulfed as well. The surrounding residents had already been evacuated, but from the house at the heart of the fire, no one had yet emerged.Noelle knew Hendrix was inside. For some reason, memories of the past few days flashed through her mind. The last time they had seen each other was when they were on their way to the equestrian club.Hendrix had tried hard to lighten the mood, but she had cut him off. Because at that time, she had still been angry with him, so she hadn't wanted to hear him speak. He wasn't someone who liked to talk much in the first place. But at that moment, she had told him to be quiet.Later, in the video call, he had invited her to join him in Tilwick. She had understood his hint and clearly seen the hope in his eyes, but she had still refused him. She hadn't even said a single kind word to him.And now? Even if she wanted to say so
Amy spun around instantly and saw Hendrix walking toward her.Even though their relationship was purely transactional—and even though Amy knew better than anyone that catching feelings for a client was the worst mistake she could make—she still had to admit something.Even without Hendrix's status, his looks and presence alone were enough to make any woman blush and her heart race. Being able to call him her boyfriend, even if only on the surface, gave Amy a kind of prestige wherever she went.Seeing that Hendrix was about to reach her, Amy was about to greet him when Hailey suddenly stepped ahead of her."Hi! Are you Amy's boyfriend?" she asked.Hendrix narrowed his eyes at her. "And you are?""I'm her friend. We were out shopping together today. What a surprise to run into you like this!" Hailey said with a grin. "Amy's always bragging about you. Now, I finally see why she's been hiding you from us."As she spoke, Hailey moved to slip her arm through Hendrix's. She was wearing
Lately, Amy had been living in the lap of luxury. Hendrix not only bought her jewelry and designer bags but even a sports car—a bright red one, with the emblem of an angry bull on the front.When Amy drove it out, she immediately attracted the envy of countless people. They spoke words of admiration and praise for Amy. But behind her back, they were practically grinding their teeth in envy.Of course, Amy could see through their little games, but she didn't care. Even if they cursed her behind her back, she acted like she never heard a word of it.To be honest, if they had been in her shoes, they probably wouldn't have been able to seize the opportunity. They would have likely been kicked out due to overstepping the first time Hendrix made them sleep on the couch.So, some things were just meant to be hers.Besides the jewelry, bags, and car, Hendrix had also given her a black card with no spending limit. Now, when she entered those stores, she no longer had to carefully check the
On the contrary, Hendrix seemed to care a lot about Noelle. Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed over like that. Even Amy could feel the passion in the way he looked at Noelle—it was intense and almost burning. There wasn't a trace of the indifference he had shown back at the party.So, it was very likely the two of them were acting. But for what reason?Amy couldn't figure it out, but she knew one thing—she might have just uncovered a huge secret. And this secret could very well…Amy was still thinking when the door suddenly opened in front of her. Startled, she instinctively took a few steps back, staring in shock at the person before her.Hendrix was standing there, looking at her."I didn't say anything!" Amy blurted out without hesitation. She even held up her phone, as if offering it for inspection.He gave it a glance, then quickly looked away and said, "Come on out. We've got a business deal to discuss."…"Who sent this to you?" the tanned-skin man asked.Only then did D
"Do you not trust me?" Noelle asked.Hendrix was momentarily stunned, then he slowly frowned. "What did you say?""Do you not trust that I can protect myself or that I can help you? Or do you think I'm just a burden?""Of course not," Hendrix immediately denied it, his expression growing darker. "How could you think that of yourself? If I thought that, why would I bring you here?""Since it's not that, then why don't you want to—""Because I don't want you to be in any danger," Hendrix said in a low voice. "Clearly, we could have used other methods, couldn't we?""But right now, this one is the fastest and most convenient, right?"Hendrix couldn't answer.Noelle smiled. "See? You're admitting it, too. And honestly, you don't have that much time, either. So, weighing the pros and cons, doesn't it make the most sense to choose the most efficient option right now?""No," Hendrix said through gritted teeth.Yet, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.After meeting his gaze
"I know things aren't that simple," Noelle said quietly.Her sudden change of topic caused Hendrix to furrow his brows slightly.He wanted to say something, but Noelle continued, "If it were that simple, you wouldn't have agreed to let me use this method to lure Dylan out from the start. This isn't Coppersville, and more importantly, the people around you now are only driven by self-interest."So, it would be impossible for them to help you find Dylan and make him lose everything. That is—unless he makes a move against you first. But in that case, Dylan would definitely be extra cautious. He might even hide for years or decades."As Noelle spoke, Hendrix suddenly laughed. "So what? You think I can't wait?""I know you won't wait." Noelle looked up at him. "I know you're not as indifferent as you appear to be about what happened to the Swifts. If I don't do this, you'll definitely think of other ways, right?"And I also know that those ways of yours would be even more dangerous tha
The text message Hendrix had received just now was from Noelle. It contained the motel's address and the room number she had booked.The two of them hadn't seen each other at all these past few days—not even a phone call. Noelle wasn't sure if Dylan had sent anyone to watch them, and even the slightest trace of contact could become the reason everything fell apart.Noelle knew she wasn't clever enough to cover every detail flawlessly, so instead she put on a performance so convincing, even she almost believed it.She understood that in Dylan's mind, he always believed himself to be a noble man. The belief came from the way his family had raised him and the public image he maintained.Dylan and Hendrix were completely different. Hendrix had never cared about what others thought of him. Even in public, if he disliked someone or found them disgusting, he wouldn't bother pretending otherwise. The fact that he didn't humiliate someone outright was already the limit of his courtesy.Wh
Amy figured that maybe Hendrix had somehow found out what she had been thinking earlier and wanted to kill her now to keep her quiet. After all, no one who could survive in that circle was really normal.She knew how this worked. To people like him, women like her weren't even human. If he was in a bad mood and decided to use her to vent, that would be totally normal to him.She licked her lips, just about to try explaining, when she realized that he wasn't even paying her any attention. He got out of the car without a word and walked straight inside.That reaction left Amy completely thrown. For a moment, she was at a loss for what to do.Should she follow him? But what if he really was planning to do something to her? If someone like her died here, no one would even notice.But if she didn't follow, and he wasn't planning anything, wouldn't she be missing a golden opportunity?Amy felt completely torn.As she watched him disappear into the motel, she threw all her concerns away
This was the second time Amy had seen Hendrix. The last time, he had picked her out of a group—and today, he did the same.More importantly, Amy was now wearing the jewelry he had bought her. That piece alone had cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he hadn't even blinked at the price.From that alone, Amy was certain that she had won. She had stood out among the prey and become the object of his favor. The only thing she wasn't sure of was how long his interest toward her would last.In the social circles of Nuvark, women like Amy had their own internal rankings—a list sorted from most to least desirable targets. Hendrix wasn't on that list, but Amy knew that he was easily one of the top players in the game.She could tell that just by how Erwin and the others treated him. So, the fact that she hadn't hesitated and went straight for the win was the right call. And now, all the others could only look at her with envy and jealousy.The uniquely styled sports car sped down the
Then, Dylan hesitated a little. "Are you pitying me?""No, no!"Noelle quickly shook her head. "I just feel like I dragged you into this. It's like because I almost married you back then, Hendrix has been targeting you ever since. If not for that, you'd probably still be doing fine back home, and the Swift family wouldn't have ended up like this. So, I feel guilty."Her voice grew more hoarse as she spoke.Dylan stared at her for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. He laughed like he had just heard the funniest thing in the world, completely delighted."So, now you finally see Hendrix for who he really is?" he asked. "I told you before—he's never treated you right. Otherwise, why would you have taken Rosie and run to another city in the first place?"And back then, if it hadn't been for me, you never would've been forced to marry him. So, Noelle, have you remembered now? The one you actually love is me."Noelle stared at him, stunned.Dylan stood up at that moment, closin