"Adie…" Abby knew that Quinton and Leia were reluctant to tell Renee about Adie, but she felt like she had to tell her mother the truth. "Adie's been kidnapped!""Kidnapped?" Renee's heart skipped a beat. "That's impossible. Adie's so smart, there's no way he can get kidnapped. Has there been a misunderstanding?" Adie had always been smarter and more adaptable than other children, so Renee felt that nobody would dare to harm him. To her, it was more plausible that Adie had kidnapped someone or caused trouble, and he was too afraid to see her."Mommy, Adie really got kidnapped! I'm not lying!" Abby hurriedly added, "Someone called you when you were in a coma, and said you had to go to this horrible place to save Adie. But you lost too much blood at that time, so Uncle Quinton took the call and scolded that person. Then… we lost all news about Adie." The day Renee was admitted to the hospital, Quinton sent a helicopter to bring Abby to the hospital. Abby had stayed by the emergency roo
It was like that name set off a bomb, and the others became furious."Stop thinking about that ungrateful jerk!" Quinton snarled. "It's useless trying to rely on others, we can only rely on ourselves at times like this. I can still find Adie even without Stefan's help.""What… do you mean?" Renee didn't know why Quinton was so agitated. "Where is he now? Is he at the hospital? Does he know that Adie is kidnapped?""Stop talking about him!" Leia gritted her teeth and sighed in frustration. "You almost bled out for him, but what did he do? He turned around and left once he recovered. He's a cruel scumbag!" She was tired of watching Stefan and Renee separate then get back together. Initially, she had supported their relationship, then, she grew to hate Stefan, and now, she was just indifferent about it. She knew how dramatic they were, so there was no point getting emotional over their relationship because things might change again eventually. However, it still infuriated her to see Re
Suddenly, Chase, Quinton's subordinate, rushed into the room. "I have clues! Adie, he…" He stopped when he realized Renee was awake, and glanced at Quinton uncertainly. "What's wrong with Adie? Tell me now!" Renee ignored her injured wrist and leaped out of bed to go to Chase. "Tell me the truth! I'm his mother; I have the right to know!"The bandage around Renee's wrist was red with blood because she had moved too quickly, and when Leia noticed that, she hurriedly held Renee and said soothingly, "Ren, calm down. If not, your wound will open again…""I'll get the nurse!" Justin said anxiously and immediately ran out of the room.A nurse quickly entered a few moments later, and was shocked to see the bloodstained bandage. "Stop moving around. Are you trying to make it worse?""I'm fine!" Renee snapped, determined to get an answer from Chase. "Tell me about Adie's condition now!""Adie, he…" Chase turned to Quinton hesitantly, unsure if he should tell Renee or not."We'll deal wi
After a brief deliberation, Quinton nodded at Chase. "Tell us what's going on then, and don't leave anything out." Then, he turned to the nurse. "Treat her wound carefully. Don't hurt her."The nurse carefully removed the gauze around Renee's wrist. The cut underneath it was deep, and it was bleeding. She hurriedly grabbed some cotton to stop the bleeding, and after a while, the bleeding stopped.Chase swallowed and said carefully, "After a thorough search, our men found Madelyn's location.""Really?" Renee excitedly stood up when she heard that. "Where is she?" "Tiger Island." Chase explained, "Tiger Island is pretty remote and undeveloped. It's quite rough terrain.""I know Tiger Island…" Renee frowned. "It's 100 nautical miles south of the island where the kindergarten held their graduation trip… Why would she go there?" That place was deserted without any shops to provide food or drinks, and today was quite sunny. Renee didn't know how Madelyn got there, and couldn't figure o
"Adie... Well, he..." Chase hesitated, but when he saw Quinton's menacing expression, he hurriedly said, "Adie said that he was happy on the island and didn't want to come home. He even asked us not to disturb him.""What?" Quinton, Leia, and the others were stunned. "Adie was kidnapped—he's not there on vacation! How could he possibly be having fun? Was there some sort of misunderstanding?" Leia asked in disbelief."I'm sure Adie didn't send that!" Quinton glared at Chase. "You're useless. You couldn't handle such a small thing, and you're now trying to lie to us? Get lost!""No, Boss… Adie did say that!" Chase quickly took his phone out and pointed at a text with a picture sent by Adie. "See? That's Adie, right? He even took a selfie, and he looks… happy."Everyone gathered around Chase to read the message. There was a picture of Adie attached to it, and in it, he was sitting on the beach and staring out at the ocean. He looked rather relaxed for someone who had supposedly been
Renee's calmness surprised the others."How do you know that Adie was the one who sent the message?" Quinton read the message over and over again and couldn't see anything unusual. He frowned in concern. "But we can't just let him be. Leave this to me—I'll bring Adie home safely." Quinton knew that Renee wouldn't recover well as long as she was worried about Adie… but Renee seemed strangely unbothered about the situation."Adie always adds exclusive codes to his messages, and if you decipher them, you'll find out his true thoughts…" Renee inhaled deeply and explained, "You won't be able to bring him back unless he wants to come back. You'll just be troubling yourselves, so I suggest waiting for him. Once he sees things through, he'll come home." In the past, Adie had gone to Beach City and even snuck into Hunt Enterprise on his own. If he could survive that, he could survive being kidnapped by an ordinary woman. Given Adie's capabilities, Renee was more worried about Tiffany's mother
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 knew was that Madelyn tied him and Tiffany up before moving them to that deserted island, and gave them food and water from time to time. At night, she would chat with them and sing nursery rhymes for them to put them to sleep. It was baffling. Tiffany seemed happy, but sometimes she cried and clung to Madelyn. Adie was very curious but kept himself from asking about it. Once Madelyn trusted him more, he would bring it up."It's because..." Madelyn stopped flicking the firewood as her gaze grew fierce. "I think of my dead child every time I look at you kids. It's so unfair... Why are you kids so loved by everyone while my child didn't even get to be born? I want you kids to die with my chi
"Madam, snap out of it!" Adie helplessly pointed at his face. "Look at me—I'm not your son. I'm Renee and Stefan's son, and I have nothing to do with you. Stop trying to steal me away!""You..." Madelyn covered her face as she burst into tears. "Why? Why is God punishing me like this? I just want a child who belongs to me… Is that too much to ask?""It isn't!" Adie shrugged and said bluntly, "Since Tiffany's father stopped you from having kids, you should divorce him and have kids with another man." "Don't you think I've thought of that?" Madelyn looked up, her face wet with tears. "After that incident, I became infertile… I can never be a mother for the rest of my life, which is why I hate her father and her. I hate everyone who stops me from being a mother!" Madelyn sobbed miserably. After graduating from college, she had married Damon, who had been married before. Besides, Damon had Tiffany too. Back then, Madelyn regarded Tiffany as her own daughter and gave Tiffany endless car
"No, I'm not!" Liam raised his hand to swear. "Trust me. They're just best friends. They're not in that kind of messy relationship. Both of them have a guy they're madly in love with.""I see." Amber watched how Renee and Leia fooled around intimately with each other in the cell. They looked like they were about to kiss! She shook her head and said, "What a pity! They look so lovey-dovey, better than many novels I read about where the women love each other.""You're hopeless!" It was rare for Liam to see such a straightforward and cute side of Amber. Amused, he poked her forehead and sighed. "Stop reading those messy novels! It's harmful."Their actions were loud and finally attracted Renee's attention in the cell."Liam!" Renee, pressed to the chair by Leia, couldn't escape. Finally, she grabbed a chance to leap up and walk to the door.Well… It wasn't a door. Rather, they were iron bars preventing them from escaping.The decoration and facilities in the room weren't bad. Be
Liam tensed up when he heard that voice. He quickened his pace and rushed through the corridor, toward the cell where Renee and Leia were locked up. Suddenly, he became flabbergasted and his face stiffened. For a long time, he couldn't regain his wits."Hey… What are you guys doing?"On a table lay barbecue, jerky, beer, and fruit platters. Meanwhile, both Renee and Leia were playing cards. Leia ran after Renee, then pressed her on the chair and said seriously, "Hey, gorgeous. You can't run away! You got the card for kissing me, so you have to let me kiss you. If not, you're trying to disobey the rules of the game!""Help! Help me…!" Renee kept resisting, amused and befuddled. "Get away from me! I'm a desperate woman who likes men! I can't kiss you! If I kiss you, I'm going to have nightmares… Oh, just kill me! Is there anyone who can save me?" Liam wasn't the only one standing at the door. Amber was also with him since she was following him. Watching Renee and Leia's antics,
"Hurry up and explain to her, then!" Amber said hurriedly. "Matt, you're close to her. You know Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne would never do that on purpose. Try to persuade her to let this go, and then you can immediately set them free.""I don't have a say in this." Mateo shook his head, pretending to be helpless. "You know how much Luneth dotes on her son. Ms. Everheart pinned him to the ground and beat him up. His head got injured and started bleeding. I heard it's a large cut with a lot of stitches. We can't let it go just like that.""But you can't—" Amber wanted to say more, but Liam interrupted her. He looked at Mateo, his eyes cold and fierce. "I know you set them up. Just be frank. Why did you do that?" "See?" Mateo sighed. He pretended to be aggrieved as he looked at Amber. "The guy you like is sinister. I kindly helped him, but he didn't thank me. He even accused me of setting this up… He always sees the worst in people. He criticized me in front of you and sowed di
Liam immediately noticed something wrong. He asked Mateo fiercely, "What do you mean?""Calm down." Mateo put away his gun and placed it back around his waist. "They broke the rules and barged into the orchard. Plus, they hurt Luneth's child. So, I locked them up for the time being."He appeared calm, as if he was discussing what he had eaten for dinner. He didn't feel that he had been over the line. "Go to hell!" Liam finally failed to hold himself back. He rushed over and grabbed Mateo's neck fiercely. "You can harm me, but how dare you harm them!"At the same time, Mateo's subordinates raised their guns and aimed them at Liam. The recently eased atmosphere immediately became tense again."Hey, don't!" Amber, all tensed up, braced herself to try and stop them. Even so, she was mentally exhausted."What? You want to strangle me?" Mateo was fearless. He grinned deviously and teased, "Cool it. I just locked them up, but they didn't suffer. They're fine. If you harm me, though, I
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St