Se connecter"What? The kids are missing?"Stefan frowned. His expression instantly turned grim.Just like Renee, the children were his weak spot. He could stay calm about almost anything else, but the moment the kids were involved, all reason went out the window."I got tied up with something unexpected today. I naively thought maybe since Joanne was acting normal again, it'd be fine to let her pick up the kids. When I got home…"Renee crouched on the floor. She bit her lip as her body trembled uncontrollably with fear.The old Renee had feared nothing. She used to be the freest, boldest woman in the world. But ever since becoming a mother, she had become timid. Every decision was made cautiously. The slightest hint of trouble would make her panic. She had become an ordinary woman and an ordinary mother."You…"Stefan's first instinct was to blame her. Just like Quinton, he believed Joanne was far too unstable, and that the kids should never have been left in her care. However, seeing h
When Renee arrived at Everheart Manor, the entire house was dark. There was nobody inside."Joanne! Abby! Adie!"Renee instantly went on high alert. She quickly checked everywhere inside and out while calling out their names.The only thing that answered her was silence.That kind of silence had never existed before. Normally, before she even stepped through the door, her two kids would already be bouncing around waiting to greet her.That meant Joanne and the kids definitely weren't home. Where could they have gone?At this hour, they couldn't still be out playing.Renee took a deep breath to calm herself. With a trembling hand, she retrieved her phone and dialed Joanne's number.Unfortunately, it was the same silence in Everheart Manor that responded to her.At that moment, panic completely took over. She didn't dare call Quinton because he had repeatedly warned her not to let Joanne bring the kids out alone.Now, something had actually gone wrong. Quinton would kill her if
Chase looked confused. "I know the painting is valuable since it's Somerset's authentic artwork, but it's not valuable enough for both you and the boss to care this much. He even wants to dig into everyone who's ever owned it. It's way too unusual."As far as he remembered, Quinton had never cared about paintings or antiques. The only thing that interested him was how much profit they could bring. He never asked about their history or their previous owners."I can't really explain it, either. Maybe this painting just has some strange connection to the Everheart family. The first time I saw it, I was very young. My mother kept it hidden in a secret place. She would stare at it for long periods of time."Renee drifted into memory. She often caught her mother standing silently in front of the painting. She would trace every brushstroke as if holding a wordless conversation with someone.The moment she noticed Renee or anyone else approaching, she would immediately put the painting a
When Chase felt Renee's fingers brush against his skin, he visibly froze for a second. He then awkwardly pulled away and took a sip of coffee to hide his unease."Ms. Everheart, you're overthinking this. There's really no need to worry. I believe the boss has his own reasons."Chase knew where to draw the line. He was very careful with what he said.Hearing that only irritated Renee more. She frowned. "Chase, I know you're loyal to my brother, but your blind loyalty isn't doing him any good. You know better than anyone how extreme he can be, don't you?""You've misunderstood him. His temperament has improved a lot. When he makes decisions now, he considers things from multiple angles. He's not as hot-headed as he used to be!"Chase defended Quinton almost immediately.It came from his observation of Quinton over time.With Renee's companionship and guidance, Quinton had stopped being the impulsive, hot-tempered, and extreme man he used to be.He could even see that Quinton had
Chase nodded and walked over to Renee. "Ms. Everheart, if there isn't anything else, I'll take you to the lounge to rest. The boss still has other matters to handle."Renee looked at him in surprise. "Chase, what's wrong with you? Didn't you hear what Quinton just said? He's planning to go back to doing dangerous, illegal things! Weren't you always against Carmine Pawnshop heading in that direction? You should be helping me talk him out of it, not blindly going along with him!"She still remembered how, when Stefan had been posing as the owner of Carmine Pawnshop, he'd cleaned up many of the business' shady dealings. Chase had played a big role in that. He had been a true believer in Stefan's ideals and carried them out faithfully.Later, when Quinton returned and exposed Stefan's deception, Chase decided to stand by Quinton. Even so, he had secretly adhered to Stefan's ideologies behind the scenes. He slowly guided Quinton toward that same business model even at the risk of angerin
Quinton froze for a moment. He stared at Renee for a long time without speaking. He probably hadn't expected her thoughts to go in that direction. Oddly enough, he seemed relieved."Yeah. I'm planning to do something shady. Since it's not meant to be seen, maybe you should pretend you never heard any of it!"He bared his hands and admitted it openly.Quinton would rather Renee think he was a terrible person than let her uncover secrets that would only make her sad or even hurt her.Besides, in Renee's eyes, this brother of hers who'd suddenly reappeared in her life had never exactly been a saint. He was already known as the secret owner behind Carmine Pawnshop. There wasn't much left to clean up. He might as well remain the villain."What? Are you seriously planning to go down that path again?"Renee stared at him in disbelief.She hadn't expected him to admit it so openly. He sounded less like a man choosing the wrong path and more like someone proudly walking the right one. He
Renee cooperated with Stefan for the sake of saving face. She leaned into Stefan's arms and spoke softly as she smiled up at him. "Since you're here, you should be a responsible father and make their graduation a happy one.""Of course!" Stefan looked down at Rene, returning her smile. "I don't have
"What do I want?" Renee blinked slowly as she thought about it, then giggled. "I want to suffer. I want to face my karma and live a terrible life." Yeah, she would lead a leisurely life without Stefan—he was the reason her life was full of twists and turns. That was her karma, and she was always wil
At night, Renee finally breathed a sigh of relief after putting the children to bed. Renee stood at the large balcony in her room, enjoying the cool night breeze under the dim moonlight. "Do you want a drink?" Leia walked into Renee's room, her eyes bright as she carried two cans of fruit beer with
Adie recalled how Madelyn acted like a wicked witch in the cave at first, but now, she was gentle and compassionate. It was like seeing two different people, and he had no idea what had happened in between. Maybe he had charmed Tiffany's mother, or maybe she had suddenly realized her mistake. All he







