Stefan finally let go of her hand and explained solemnly, "Yeah, I did take liberties with you previously because you were too charming. I felt that your gaze, behavior, and soul were trying to seduce me. I failed to hold myself back, and gave in to your seduction. It was my fault, so let me apologize to you.""Umm… what exactly are you talking about?" Renee did not expect that he would say such an outrageous thing. He was an arrogant man, but he had bluntly admitted to falling for her charms."Didn't I make myself clear? You're a very charming woman. You can move me even if you do nothing. Well, I could be wrong, but you need to be held responsible too," Stefan repeated sincerely.Renee blushed as she smoothed her hair and grinned. "Well, look at you! It's a known fact that I'm charming. I can't help it, I'm sorry. I'll hold myself back next time, so you won't be tempted...""That's more like it." Stefan then grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms, his gaze intense. "So, c
Stefan sounded so practical that she had no way to argue."Cousin-in-law..." Helplessness overcame her. "You're so noble. You flirt with your cousin-in-law while claiming that you can't let her cheat on Jovan… How hypocritical.""That's different." Stefan loosened his tie, and his gaze was sharp as he said casually, "Jovan and I share the same surname, so my family won't be humiliated if anything happens between us. However, Justin is a Baldwin and my family's enemy, so there's no way you can get into a relationship with him.""Why should I listen to you? Do I look like your slave? You have no right to meddle in my business." Renee was disgusted by his words, so she tried her best to push him away. "Let me make it clear to you—Justin is trying to win my heart. I didn't feel anything for him before this, but a guy like him is so much nicer than an overbearing and arrogant man like you. Maybe he's the right man for me… so I want to give him a chance!"Stefan's eyes widened in rage. "
"Mr. Hunt, don't worry. Miss Garcia is doing just fine. She'll recover and be discharged from the hospital in a week if nothing goes wrong." Joanne's attending doctor explained carefully. "But her body is weak. It seems like something's troubling her, so she's not trying to stay alive. She doesn't eat much either, and just relies on the IV drip to survive. It's all a bit complex… it'd be good if you could give her some moral support."Stefan nodded. "Thank you, I'll do that then."The hospital dean and Joanne's doctor walked with Stefan for a while until they arrived at Joanne's ward. Stefan was about to send them off, but suddenly thought of something. "By the way, why did Renee come to this hospital?""Miss Everheart?" The hospital dean remembered Renee, but mostly because of Justin. "She came with Mr. Baldwin. It seems like something went wrong with her brother's surgery, so they rushed him here as an emergency case. His attending doctor was hired by Mr. Baldwin though. He made a
"Umm..." The dean looked conflicted. "We do know an expert in this field, but Mr. Baldwin set up this team, so it might upset him if we suddenly change it.""You're worried about upsetting him? What about upsetting me?" Stefan's gaze turned icy, and his aura became menacing.The dean went pale, and swallowed nervously. "I understand, Mr. Hunt. Please let us handle this." "Make sure the effectiveness of your doctor surpasses Justin's," Stefan added casually as he walked away. "Don't worry, Mr. Hunt. We'll do our best." The dean gritted his teeth and decided to use all his resources and connections for this task.The Hunt family ruled Beach City; they'd rather take their chances with an angry Justin than an angry Stefan.Stefan was silent, but he was no longer upset. 'Wait for me, Renee… You'll be crying tears of gratitude once this is done.'Renee returned to Quinton's ICU ward. Haze was waiting there, and he peered at her intently as if he were appraising a piece of art.Feelin
"You're overthinking. We were never that close, and so many things have happened between us that things can't go back to the way they were," Renee said softly as she gazed into the distance. In the past, she might have had feelings for him, but after all these events, they had started to fade.The only thing she wanted now was for her family to be safe and healthy—that was all that mattered.After a while, they heard footsteps, and saw Robert walking towards them dressed in casual clothes and carrying a surgery kit."Doctor Cromwell, aren't you going to treat my brother today? Why do you…"Renee looked at Robert's attire in confusion. He didn't look like someone who was about to perform surgery. "Miss Everheart, Mr. Baldwin… I'm so sorry, I can't treat him. The dean has arranged for someone else to take over, so you both can talk to the new attending doctor… I have something to do at home, so I'll leave now.""What?" Renee's eyes grew wide in shock. "Didn't you do a good job with
"Mr. Wilfred, what happened? Why did you remove Doctor Cromwell from the medical team? He's my brother's attending doctor and he saved his life! He should be in charge of the case," Renee exclaimed in outrage.If Quinton wasn't hospitalized there, she would have lost it completely."Umm… We don't want to delay Mr. Everheart's treatment, so we're going to get a better doctor to take over his case. We're trying to help him wake up as soon as possible." Ezra Wilfred didn't dare to speak frankly since they had yet to succeed, and he couldn't reveal that it had been Stefan's order. "Doctor Cromwell is very good, and he's someone we trust too. I don't think there's anyone else more suitable than him. Can you put him back in charge?" Renee was firm. She had always suspected that Quinton's accident was the result of someone's scheme, and she trusted Haze's doctor since he had saved Quinton's life."Miss Everheart, please believe me when I say that there's always someone better out there.
"Umm..." Ezra averted his gaze nervously. 'Damn it! Stefan ordered me not to expose it before it was done. How could I have made such a silly mistake?' "No, I'm... talking about the hospital. We have targets to hit. This hospital has a record of ninety-nine percent recovery, so we can't fail this for the sake of the hospital's reputation," Ezra lied quickly.Convinced, Renee left it. Her main priority was to ask for Owen's help to save Quinton. "Ezra, do you know where Doctor Wagner is? I'll go ask him personally if you guys can't persuade him." Renee was used to doing things herself and didn't want to owe others, so she preferred if she could go talk to Owen herself."I learned from Doctor Wagner's friend that he often goes fishing at sea. In fact, he should be out now. If it goes well and he's in a good mood, we might be able to persuade him. If not, it might be difficult," Ezra said honestly. Owen wasn't attached to a hospital, so whether he took on a job or not depended solel
Renee wanted to meet Owen as soon as possible, so she didn't mind taking a few risks. After all, Quinton's condition could worsen the longer they delayed treatment."Only one?" The man was filled with disdain as he said coldly, "You have to pay extra for the captain.""No, I can navigate it myself," Renee said casually."You're going to navigate it? You're just a woman!" The man scoffed in disbelief."Yes, and I have the license for it. In fact, I'm probably better at it than your men.""Fine then. This is the first time I've met a woman like you, lady. You're something special." The man shook his head in wonder and gave Renee a small old dinghy. When she turned it on, smoke billowed out of it.Well… she had asked for the cheapest boat. Renee started coughing because of the smoke, but she could not complain because she was running out of time. It was fine as long as it could sail.Vroom! She set off in the direction the man told her. The boat soared on the large waves, making
When Renee noticed Lucas' growing trust in her, she started begging for mercy for Leia.Unexpectedly, Lucas turned hostile and cunning. "So, you said that much to me just because you wanted to beg for mercy for your friend. Were you talking nonsense?" he snapped. "No, it was a sincere suggestion! I mean it! I wanted to help you make this company bigger and stronger." Renee swallowed, and added, "My friend and I are close. A normal person like me wouldn't want her to suffer so much." "Yes, any normal person wouldn't. But people in our industry can't afford to be normal. Only crazy people can do this kind of work."Lucas raised his brow, and looked at Leia before turning back to Renee. "How about this? You punish her to prove your loyalty. Then, I'll believe that you're on my side. What do you think?" "Motherfucker! Just come at me! Stop talking crap! I'm not afraid of you!" Leia suddenly shrieked.Lying on the table, her initial fear gradually turned into anger. Finally, sh
"Flying Clouds? What does that mean? What do you want?" Leia demanded. She trembled all over and subconsciously retreated.Two guards held her and pushed her on the table. They untied her shackles and tied her limbs to the four corners of the table. Then, another guard carried a basin of hot water over. It was steaming."Just start!" Lucas ordered as he sat. He took a drag of his cigarette as he watched Leia's slightly revealed figure while struggling. He looked very obscene. Renee, standing at the side, grew nervous. However, she tried her best to put on a smile and said to Lucas, "Lucas, we can talk it out. You told us we could help you earn a lot. We're your best tool for earning money. But if you do this and ruin your tool, you'll suffer." "Calm down…" Lucas turned to Renee, finding her quite obedient and sensible. He said to a guard, "Bring a chair for this pretty girl and make her learn well. When our business gets big, she can be a manager!"The guard quickly carried
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