"Stefan!" Renee answered directly.Justin's expression immediately changed. "No way!""Why not?" Renee huffed, then complained, "I rarely ask for your help. I just need you to find someone's IP address, which you said was easy to do, but you don't even want to help me with that." "You don't understand!" Justin sighed. "He's a special case. I can even get you the president's IP address, but I'm sorry, just don't ask me to get you Stefan's." There was only one reason he couldn't do it—Austin had specifically warned Justin not to stick his nose into Stefan's affairs before he left for Beach City, and told him that if he did, he would break his legs. Justin loved his legs too much to disobey Austin. "Please!" Renee put her hands together and begged, "You know I've been going mad searching for him. This is the only clue he left behind, but I can't use it the way you can. Please do me a favor and help me crack it. I'm sure it won't take up much of your time." Justin shifted uncomfor
Justin hadn't exaggerated—in around fifteen minutes, he had hacked Stefan's account and gotten his IP address. "It seems he's at..." Justin pointed at the address on the lingering screen and his eyes widened in disbelief. "Your house?" "Yeah, that's my house!" Renee stared at the familiar address, not sure whether to laugh or cry. She had searched in so many places and met so many people, almost turning the whole city upside down to find him… but he had been at home all this time. It seems he still felt the responsibility to go home, but it was still unkind of him to not show himself when he knew Renee had been going mad trying to find him. "Is he out of his mind? He's not a kid anymore, so why is he playing hide-and-seek with you?" Justin asked helplessly. Justin was a straightforward person, and wasn't very romantic or flirtatious, but… how could Stefan hide in Everheart Manor and not contact Phoenix, knowing she had been searching so frantically for him? The man had to be crazy.
Renee's gaze became unreadable as mixed feelings overwhelmed her. Her guess was right—the person who had saved her was Stefan. His body, embrace, and scent were so familiar to her that she wouldn't have got it wrong. "What happened after that?" Renee took a deep breath and asked slowly."Then, he told us he was a very bad guy, and all he did was make you sad. So, he asked us to lie and tell you that I'd saved you and that we'd never met him," Jeffrey said honestly. "I didn't want to lie to you, Renee, but that man sounded very sincere. He said he'd hurt you so much, and didn't want to keep hurting you. He wants to stay away from you, and I... I also didn't want to see you get hurt, so I chose to lie to you. I'm sorry!" Jeffrey kept his head bowed like a child who had done something wrong, his eyes watery.Justin stared at him, then tugged at Renee's arm, urging, "Hurry up and forgive him. He's heartbroken." "I never blamed him, so there's nothing to forgive." Renee scowled. "All I
Three days later, Renee's vital signs were back to normal, so she requested to be discharged from the hospital. Instead of hiding in Joyner Village to heal, she returned to Beach City with Jeffrey. She promised Cole and Ava that she would show Jeffrey the outside world and make him learn through experiences. She did plan to introduce him to Xavier's company so he could try to make a living in the entertainment field. "You're so nice to my family. We don't know how to repay you!" Ava wiped away her sweat and smiled gratefully at Renee. Rich and noble people would generally pinch their noses and leave when they saw stinky fishermen like them, but Renee was different. Not only did she not despise them, she also regarded them as her family. Back then, she had given them money to help resolve their family crisis, and now, she was helping with Jeffrey's future. Ava felt that she could never repay such kindness even if it took up her entire lifetime."You're welcome, Mrs. Joyner. I want to
Renee looked ahead silently, then sighed and said firmly, "Let's go home." Previously, she'd been gloomy and depressed, and she didn't want her mood to affect the children if she went home. However, the ocean seemed to have cleansed her of all those bad emotions, and she had finally come to her senses and regained the confidence to face her family and friends."Are you feeling more like yourself now?" Justin asked with a smile. Renee was different now—she was like a warrior who had found her armor. It had been a while since Justin had seen her like this, and he was genuinely happy for her."I am." Renee nodded."I'm glad to hear that. Well, people... can get a little crazy sometimes, but it's alright as long as you know how to get your groove back. Welcome back, Phoenix!" Then, Justin stepped on the pedal and sped onto the highway. After around half a day, the car finally reached Everheart Manor. Renee got out of the car, feeling melancholic. Her house was just as she remembered
"Abby!" Renee turned around, and when she saw her daughter, her heart warmed. She carried Abby in her arms. "Yes, it's me. I'm sorry, baby… I was away for a long time. Did you miss me?" Abby looked tense when Renee picked her up, and she shook her head. "You're not Mommy. Mommy's eyes are black, and she can't see.""Umm, well..." Renee smiled in amusement, then blinked and said, "I've changed my eyes, and now I can see you, Abby. What do you think? Do you like my new eyes?" "Are you really my mommy?" Abby looked doubtful. Abby was still young and naive, so when Renee looked different from what Abby was familiar with, she became suspicious. "Yes, touch me if you don't believe me. Don't I look the same?" Renee put Abby's hand on her cheek.At first, Abby was cautious as she tentatively touched Renee's face. However, the moment she felt Renee's skin, the little girl's eyes lit up in joy. "Yes, you're Mommy! Only Mommy has such smooth and soft skin..." She held Renee's arm and sobb
Renee followed Adie to the bedroom on the second floor quickly.Adie smoothly turned on the computer and opened his email inbox, ponting at a recent email excitedly. "This is the email I just got from Daddy. He asked Abby and me to be good and listen to you, and said he'll be back after settling his things." Renee stared at the email with mixed feelings. After taking a deep breath, she leaned towards the screen and read the email. It was roughly what Adie had said—Stefan had told the children that he was safe, asked them to be good, and told them not to anger Renee. He also promised that he would be back soon. The email had been sent from Stefan's private email.Both Adie and Abby didn't know what was going on between Renee and Stefan, and were just happy at the thought of having a family reunion. They hugged Renee. "Mommy, I knew that you and Daddy must have left suddenly because of something. We can be a happy family again soon!" Renee felt uneasy, and touched their faces, sayi
"Mommy, why are you saying that? Did you argue with Daddy again? Did something happen to him? Why are you so sure that he won't be back?" Adie's gaze was sharp as he asked Renee."Umm..." Renee stalled, not knowing how to explain it. Adie squinted at Renee and said slowly, "You must have argued with Daddy. Daddy's probably scared of coming home and facing your anger, right?"Renee sighed deeply, and confessed, "I do want to argue with him… but the problem is that I never saw him again after he left. How can I argue with him?" It was weird. They used to be madly in love with each other, and Stefan was even willing to give up Hunt Enterprise and his life for her, but why did he no longer want to see her? Adie might be right—Stefan might have figured that Renee was aware of his disloyalty and was afraid of her anger, so he was too scared to meet her. "Mommy, ask yourself this—if Daddy appears before you now, will you be happy or mad? Will you welcome him with a hug, or will you slap
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