The man's expression stiffened. His gorgeous eyes still remained unfocused as he replied, "I wish.""You…" Renee felt rather helpless after noticing his pitiful appearance. She waved her hand slowly in front of his face. "Can you really not see?""I have no reason nor interest in pretending to be a blind man," Stefan responded coldly, his elegant face plastered with visible pain."I'm so sorry, you're just way too smart. I couldn't help but doubt you. I… I'm such an idiot!" Renee gave herself a couple of light slaps out of guilt.Stefan was quite a prideful man. He was already feeling quite depressed because of his disability, and yet he was being doubted for it regardless… 'This was no different than trampling all over his insecurities. I'm such a disgusting person!'Stefan maintained an expressionless face, still facing forward as he spoke dismissively, "So are we continuing the bet?"Renee bit on her lip, feeling rather uneasy. "Only if you want to.""Then please step aside
Renee turned to the man, clearly confused. "Weren't you risking your life just to leave? Why the sudden change of heart?""I just wanted to show you that none of you could stop me if I tried to leave. So, if I do stay, it would be of my own volition," Stefan replied arrogantly."But… why?" Renee still couldn't understand. However, she now believed that Stefan was telling the truth, he did in fact have the ability to escape this place. 'But wasn't he missing Seraphina? Why is he so willing to stay now? This makes no sense!'"You mentioned that I risked my life to leave, but you risked your life to save me as well. That shows that we aren't just hospital buddies as you said…" Stefan paused, then continued. "I want to know what kind of past relationship we had to have warranted your desperate efforts."He wasn't sure if he had lost parts of memories, but he could tell that this 'Renee Everheart' had played an important role in his life. Otherwise, her existence alone wouldn't have b
"Oh come on, Margaret, spill everything out at once! You're giving me a heart attack here!" Renee felt her chest tightening as she nervously turned to the old woman once more."My father may have been a great doctor, but he has rather odd ways. The recipes he concurred up on his own aren't accepted within us traditional doctors. That's why I was hesitant in using his methods…" Margaret furrowed her eyebrows, visibly perturbed."What is it? What do you mean odd? Tell me.""All my father's recipes require a special ingredient…" Margaret then whispered into Renee's ear, revealing the ingredient to her.Renee remained silent for a short while, then responded, "It's okay. If you need any, then go ahead. I can provide you with it.""But it'd be harmful to you. Is that heartless man really worth it?""He became this way because of me. I'm even willing to sacrifice my life for him, let alone this special ingredient.""Alright, I understand. You don't want to owe him anything." As the
"You've been rather quiet lately, like you've become a proper lady," Stefan teased lightly. Although he had not spent much time with the woman, her incessant chattering had long made an impression on him. However, for the past few days, she had been unusually quiet. Most times, they merely sat together in silence, not saying a word to each other. Her voice was starting to sound quite weak as well, as if she were a willow in the breeze.'This is odd. Almost too odd!'"That's because I am a proper lady," Renee replied, her voice exceedingly soft."Mmm, a proper lady who knows how to fight a bear. Now I'm really curious as to what you look like." Stefan smirked, his expression plastered with a hint of affection that he himself didn't realize just yet.For some reason, despite having no memories of her, the days he spent with her became rather natural, as if they had known each other for a long time. Such comfort and ease made him feel happier than when he was with Seraphina.If he ha
As she continued grinding the coffee bit by bit, Renee felt satisfied, but also frowned deeply due to the pain in her wrist.Just then, footsteps could be heard behind her. It was Yulia, and she screamed as soon as she noticed the wounds on Renee's wrist. "Ren, what are you doing? Just look at your hands! Let the staff do this for you!""I'm alright, Mrs. Walker, I'm not that fragile." Renee smiled weakly and proceeded."No, you're not. You're already bleeding through the gauze! Do you not cherish your own life?" Despite her usual gentleness, Yulia couldn't help but feel angered by Renee's recklessness.She then snatched the grinder out of her hands and sighed. "Oh child, you're just so foolish. How could you use your own blood for his medicine? If your mother knew that you hurt yourself over a man, she would be devastated!""She won't," Renee replied softly. "I believe Mom would use her own blood if she knew Dad needed it to survive. And you would too, if Mr. Walker needed it, ri
"That year..." Yulia hesitated, looking reluctant to bring up the incident. "It happened ages ago, so let's not talk about it. The most important thing is that we should live in the moment." "No!" Renee shook her head and clenched her fists tightly. Looking pained, she said determinedly, "The Everheart family used to be the head of The Great Eight of Beach City, but we were nearly taken out. Our family went through such pain, and I always wanted to take revenge for my parents, but Grandpa made me vow not to take revenge before he passed away. So, I laid low and didn't do anything about it, but it didn't change anything. I always had nightmares of my parents falling down the stairs, bloody and mutilated, for years. When I think about how my enemies are still living freely while my parents died so cruelly, I get so upset that I can't sleep all night. To make it worse, my brother went through hell after being kidnapped. That's why I have to uncover the truth and take revenge for my fami
There was a shrewd gleam in Renee's eyes, and it was obvious her mind was racing to make sense of all the information Yulia had given her. "You can’t say that. Both the Hunt and Everheart families were developing in Beach City and both families always helped each other. There weren't any big conflicts of interest. Even if they became distant because of your brother's incident, they never meddled in each other's business. I think that the Hunt family's rapid development was mainly caused by their own efforts." "That's true." Renee's gaze softened. "After all, the Hunt family were the only ones who helped my family when they went bankrupt that year. Besides, Grandpa arranged a marriage between Stefan and I because he believed that the Hunt family were the only ones who could truly take care of me. If they really were my parents' murderers, Grandpa would have never let me marry into the family." Renee did suspect the Hunt family that year, but she quickly eliminated that option beca
"What do you think?" Renee looked at the man eagerly."This is the most delicious coffee I've ever had. It reminds me of… an old friend." Stefan said softly, then closed his eyes and took another sip, savouring the smooth and rich flavour. Even though he was an extremely picky person, this cup of coffee was indeed impeccable. It was so perfect that he was sure he had become addicted to it. "That's for sure. This is my masterpiece." Renee grinned, lifting her chin proudly. She learned how to brew coffee for Stefan's sake. She became more motivated when she saw how much he enjoyed it, and it made her feel that all her efforts were worthwhile. Stefan drank more coffee, and his muddled mind felt clearer. Scenes of a familiar woman flashed in his mind, but he could never see who she was. Whenever he tried, his head started to ache. "Damn it!" Stefan groaned, his eyebrows knit tightly as he rested his head in his hands. He looked pained, and a thin layer of sweat had appeared on hi
There were various kinds of torture instruments hanging around the cage. There was even a saw that would function with just a pull.Upon closer inspection, Renee noticed bloodstains on the instruments. The corners were full of piles of human hair. There was also a rotten and damp scent lingering around."What… What kind of place is this?" Leia screamed.She stood at the door of the cage and swallowed in fright, now timid. She found that place very familiar. After some contemplation, she realized it was something related to what she had seen before in the deep web.The so-called deep web was more horrible than the dark web. Only ten percent of netizens could find the websites. These websites weren't under supervision, and were full of outrageous videos and business deals.For example, the sellers would buy beautiful models to make vulgar videos of for the buyers' viewing. The buyers would make outrageous requests based on their insane desires. They would spend some money for the se
Though the building looked ordinary and old, it was filled with many things.However, it was not very accurate. The place resembled thematic scenes more.The first floor was an ordinary office area. The second floor looked like a hotel, while the third floor looked like classrooms… The themes for each place were centered around obscenity.Renee wasn't dumb. She instantly understood why Lucas brought her and Leia there by force. She also finally understood why Lucas prohibited his subordinate from touching Leia's face even though she had been rude to him. If she guessed right, these bastards wanted her and Leia to shoot pornos. "Do you like these scenes, my friends?" Lucas was smoking, in a great mood to see the film and television site he had established. His eyes gleamed as he looked at Renee and Leia. "Other than wire fraud and online casinos, the thing that makes most money is the limited and short videos. You girls are so pretty. Just work with me and shoot some R-rated
The motorbikes raced the narrow streets noisily, passing through crowds and messy alleyways. After a winding journey, they got on the large roads and drove toward a growingly remote and unknown place.At last, they stopped in front of a large iron gate with guards and two large German Shepherds. There were a few large words above the iron gate that spelled Gold Investment. As Renee and Leia walked inside, they saw a large park, like a factory. Both of them exchanged a look of deep helplessness. They had bumped into something terrible. If they guessed it right, Lucas and his gang were involved in wire fraud. They had been brought to Lucas' scamming site.Men in uniforms happened to walk toward the cafeteria to get food under the supervision of guards. Their faces or bodies were full of new or old injuries. They looked numb and dispirited, as if they had lost all hope in life.Both Renee and Leia exchanged another look. They could confirm they were brought to an infamous scamming
Lucas' lackey brought out a dagger. He pulled Leia, and pushed the dagger against her neck.Lucas stared at Renee, and sneered, "I hope you and your friend can behave. We're from the same country. We can get along, can't we?" "Ren, ignore me! Just get them! I'm sure they can't kill me in front of everyone!" Leia shouted.She was fearless and tried all means to resist, but the man was rather fierce. He pinned her wrists behind her while pushing the dagger against her neck.As Leia wasn't standing still, the blade scratched her neck and caused it to bleed.Renee could only unclench her fists, and asked Lucas coldly, "What do you want?" "Don't be scared. We mean you no harm. We like you girls because we're from the same country. We'd like to invite you to my place as guests," Lucas mouthed off insufferably as he touched his chin. His face was swollen from being punched. "Let my friend go now!" Renee ordered Lucas. She could easily handle those bastards alone, but she was too tim
"I need to congratulate you, since you'll get another person who can teach you how to be a human being aside from Draco from today onward." Renee glared at Lucas angrily, her tone icy."Who? You? Just you?" Lucas held his belly and burst into laughter. "That's hilarious! How could you? You—"The next second, Renee interrupted him and punched him. His head tilted to the side, and his teeth were knocked out and fell off. Renee grabbed his hair and demanded icily, "What about now? Where are our phones?""You… You…" Lucas' cheek was swollen. He couldn't move at all, and waved for his lackeys to act.They jumped off their motorbikes and waved their steel pipes and knives, about to attack Renee."Ren, be careful!" While resisting, Leia reminded Renee to be careful. Renee remained composed as she kept her grip on Lucas' hair. She used him as a shield as she kicked and punched the other men, defeating them with ease.She suffered no injury while attacking others as Lucas had to endur
Renee and Leia crossed the sidewalk and walked toward the bus stop some distance away from them. Before they could enter the bus stop, however, the tanned man who approached them at the airport just now stopped in front of them on a motorbike.Behind him were six or seven men, also on a motorbike, looking fierce and dangerous. "Hey, gorgeous. Didn't you say your friend was coming to get you? Why are you catching a ride here? Listen, I own the buses here. Just tell me where you're going. I'll give you a free ride!"When Leia saw him, she could no longer hold herself back. She rushed forward and grabbed his collar. "You have the nerve to stop us! Give us back our cell phones, or you'll be sorry!" "Cell phones? What do you mean? I don't understand what you're talking about." The man smiled slyly as he held Leia's hand. "What's wrong? Did you lose your phone, gorgeous? Tell me what it looks like. I've got quite a lot of connections. I'll get it back for you quick.""You're asking
Under such circumstances, the best solution was to quickly get away from that man.Both Renee and Leia took the escalator and walked a long way before they finally exited the airport. Only then did Renee breathe a sigh of relief. She said to Leia, "Okay, call Liam. Ask him to get someone to pick us up."They kept their trip to Goldshire a secret from Liam, as he didn't want Leia to attend the wedding with the excuse that the city came with a complicated environment. It would be easy for her to run into bad guys. Giving him her blessings was enough. At first, Leia hesitated to come, but after planning it out with Renee, she became bolder. She felt that it was fine since she was just there to attend a wedding.Unfortunately, they ran into an annoying sleazebag at the airport. It was a real bummer."Okay." Leia nodded. "I know this place would be chaotic, but I didn't expect it to be this serious! What the hell was that? I have to ask Liam to get someone here quickly. If not, thos
A week later, Renee and Leia flew to Goldshire without anyone's knowledge.Goldshire was a primitive, old, remote city full of speeding motorbikes and leering men. Beautiful Aeos women like Renee and Leia were very eye-catching there. It was easy to predict the kind of obstacles they would face. A slim, tanned man in an old-fashioned T-shirt blocked them casually while smoking. "Hey gorgeous, are you here for a trip or business? I'm a local. I can accompany you!" At that time, both Renee and Leia had just gotten off the plane. They were waiting for their luggage at the baggage carousel. The other passengers who rode in the same plane were either men, families, or foreigners. Renee and Leia were the best candidates to accost. "No, thank you. I've been here before, and I'm quite familiar with this place." Renee waved, not wanting to have much to do with the man. Although she was good at fighting, it was hard to fight a local tyrant. She wouldn't make a big scene if she could hel
"Don't worry, I'm not unhappy. Maybe I wasn't sensible or prudent enough, but my feelings for Liam are honorable. I see him as my younger brother. Since my brother is going to get married, of course I'll happily give him my blessings." Renee was feeling quite helpless because she had no idea how she should explain herself."I see…" Leia looked disappointed. "If Liam hears this, I guess he'll be disappointed and unhappy.""Then he shouldn't get married," Renee said, hitting the nail on the head."He'll still feel that way. You can't be easily replaced. Maybe no one will ever replace you for him. As his sister, I'm sure of it," Leia said. She didn't blame Renee, but she found it unacceptable for her loyal brother.On second thought, nothing could be done. The relationships in the world were closely linked together. It was hard to find two people who were mutually in love with each other. There was no fairness. Besides, no one could change that just by working hard. It depended