"You fought them, but you're saying you didn't do anything wrong?" It was the first time Renee had seen Adie be so rebellious, so naturally, she was furious and worried that he was getting out of her control. After all, Adie had just graduated from kindergarten. It was already difficult to handle him compared to other children, but if he always thought he was right even when he did something wrong, it would be harder to educate him once he became a teenager."Mommy, I know you would be mad if I fought someone, but I still don't think I did anything wrong. If I get into a situation like that again, I would still choose to fight!" Adie put his hands behind his back and lifted his chin stubbornly, refusing to back down."I see how it is. You think you're all grown up now since you're going to elementary school, and you can do whatever you like. Well, I think it's been a while since you've enjoyed a good beating." While talking, Renee started looking around. "Mommy, you can use this."
Adie's stubborn expression didn't change, but finally he turned around and sighed. "Fine then!""Fine, I'll wait for your explanation." Renee tried her best to calm down and put down the branch away, waiting for Adie's explanation."It was because..." Adie swallowed, his eyes watery. "It was because Tubby and his mother were disrespectful. They said..." He trailed off, reluctant to continue."What did they say?" Renee frowned and warned strictly, "If you don't give me a logical explanation, I'll hit you."Her threat just made Adie more upset, and he closed his eyes and stretched his palm out. "Go ahead then! You'll only be happy once you beat me, so there's no point in me explaining!" "What?" Renee had rarely seen Adie acting so unreasonably, and it only infuriated her further. She hit Adie's palm with the branch ruthlessly. The thinness of the branch made the hit excruciatingly painful, and Adie started to cry. Regardless of how mature he was, he was still a child at the end o
"Umm..." Renee was speechless after hearing Adie's explanation. Her anger immediately subsided and she felt guilty and sorry for Adie. She hadn't expected to see Adie face such cruelty at such a young age. She couldn't imagine how Adie must have felt when he heard those words. She thought about how she had violently hit, scolded, and criticized Adie, and felt like dying. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't know you had been bullied like this. I sincerely apologize!" Renee took a deep breath, her head hung in shame as she spoke. She didn't expect him to forgive her right now since even adults would hold a grudge when wrongly accused, let alone a child.Although Adie was still tearful and his palm was red and swollen, he was not angry at Renee. He held Renee's hand and said tenderly, "Mommy, you don't have to say sorry to me; I should be saying sorry to you. I wasn't strong enough. When others mocked me, I couldn't suppress my anger. I should have ignored their words and calmed down, but I coul
The more she thought about it, the more Renee realized that she had to accept reality—in the eyes of society, a divorced family could never be a good thing. There would always be prejudice and discrimination towards the children. Luckily, Adie was a strong child, and could stand his ground when others bullied him. If it were a gentle child like Abby, facing that kind of hostility would create lifelong trauma. After much thought, Renee felt the children had to have a father, even if he were just there in name.Stefan held Adie with one hand and Abby with the other, and they soon arrived at the cave. Renee took a deep breath as she watched them, and decided to talk it out with Stefan for the sake of the two children. Besides, many pupils and parents were standing outside the cave, too timid to go in.The cave came with a karst landscape with long and narrow spaces full of stalactites in various strange shapes. It was a good place for adventure and looking for treasure."Mommy, come he
Stefan and Renee walked into the cave silently. The atmosphere was tense and almost suffocating, like there was something threatening to surface. Maybe the oxygen level in the cave was low, or maybe it was the tension between them.Renee held the torchlight and shone it ahead of her. However, she wasn't really checking the cave out or searching for treasures—she was trying to figure out how to talk to Stefan about the children. "You..." Renee started, but gasped as she accidentally stepped into a dark pit. However, before she could fall, Stefan grabbed her and held her, and they both tumbled to the ground together. Renee had fallen on Stefan, and immediately panicked when she realized it. "Are you alright? Did you hurt your head? Can you move?" At first, Stefan was fine, but when Renee pressed down on his body, he winced in discomfort. "Maybe I'd feel better if you weren't crushing me.""Oh, I'm sorry!" Renee immediately tried to stand up, feeling embarrassed when she realized she
Stefan did not answer Renee's question immediately, and the silence in the cave made everything more awkward.Renee wasn't used to being so close to him. She could feel his breathing and the warmth of his body, but it felt like their hearts were far apart. She didn't know what he was thinking. Humiliated and disappointed, she tried to stand up, keeping her distance from Stefan. "Is it that difficult to answer?" Renee huffed angrily. She could accept Stefan's fickleness and insincerity, but she couldn't accept his silence and avoidance when it came to their children."What do you want me to do?" After a long silence, Stefan quietly stood up, upset that their romantic moment was cut short. However, he didn't regret his decision to stay away from her—he knew she would suffer less in the future. "What do you mean? You're their father, but you never thought of how you'd take care of them in the future?" Stefan's casualness infuriated Renee, and she had to stop herself from slapping him.
"You want to find another father for them?" Stefan laughed when he heard that, feeling angry and helpless. "If you think that's the better option, just go ahead then!" Then, he walked ahead to look for the treasure."You..." An unspeakable sadness gripped Renee as she watched Stefan walk away. She hadn't meant it—she just wanted to see his reaction. He had always been a very possessive man, and logically, he should have gotten furious at the suggestion of his former partner and children forming a family with another man. However, he didn't stop her, and even seemed to support her plan. At that moment, Renee realized that Stefan might have really given her and the two children up. She naively thought that he would turn around and fight for his family, but it looked like they could not make peace with each other anymore.Stefan walked ahead absent-mindedly, adjusting his headlamp. He saw an undercurrent in the cave ahead of him, and there seemed to be something shiny beside it. "I thin
Sunset gradually came, dying the sea and clouds orange. The scenery was beautiful as they returned to the campsite at the foot of the hill. After their discussion, Renee no longer had any expectations of Stefan. She merely regarded him as a stranger and ignored him. Holding the treasure chest, the children followed them cautiously, tired of the ups and downs of their parents' emotions. "Daddy, what did you do in the cave? Mommy looked so weird after she left the cave. She looks... scary!" Adie didn't dare provoke Renee after she had scolded him, so he went to pester Stefan instead."We didn't say much." Stefan put both hands in his pockets and watched Renee, who was keeping some distance from them. He sighed, then whispered, "Your mommy wants to find a new daddy for you and your sister." "What?" Adie's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "Is Mommy out of her mind? We have a daddy, so why does she want to find us a new one? If that happens, who will you be to us, Daddy?" "I don't know!"
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