"Yeah, exactly!" Renee agreed quickly. "My friends are all weirdos—we even call each other Mommy in private!""What in the world… your friends are just as weird as you are!" Francine exclaimed. Although she did find it odd, she didn't press her. After all, this wasn't the reason she was here.She placed the beautiful bouquet of lilies on Renee's desk, then pulled a chair over to sit down next to the bed. Her natural movements made it seem like she was a close loved one to the injured woman."Tell me. Where have you been hiding after making such a big mistake? Did you get married? Any kids?" Francine behaved like an elegant rich lady, and every question sounded like an interrogation. She knew her idiot of a son wouldn't ask such questions, especially with his temper and ego, which was why she had to do it in his stead.Renee smiled coldly. "Madam Francine, why do I need to answer your questions? Do you think we're close?"It had been four years, and yet her ex mother-in-law was sti
Francine collected herself, preparing to go on yet another rant.Just then, Briar interrupted her with a darkened expression, turning towards Renee. "Ms. Everheart, we actually came to ask if you know of Stef's whereabouts. It's been an entire day, and we've tried everything we could to contact him. For some reason, we just couldn't reach him, and he wouldn't pick up the phone! We're worried something might've happened to him…""You can't reach him?" Renee frowned, visibly confused. "That's not right. He already went through surgery, so he should've called you guys the moment he woke up.""What? Surgery?!" Francine jumped abruptly, her expression panicked as she continued, "What kind of surgery? Where is he now? What happened to him?""Uhm…" Renee read Francine's reactions and realized she might not know anything about the accident. After a brief pause, she decided to tell the truth. "I fell down a cliff and injured my leg. He hurt himself while trying to save me, and I heard he
Renee felt as if she was about to explode after hearing Briar's words. She glared at her and thought to herself, 'Ha, good one, woman. You were clearly implying that I have something to hide, so don't act like you're helping me! Now I'm really going to be blamed for whatever this is!'"Briar, so you're saying I'm threatening the nurse on purpose, so she won't reveal Stefan's condition to you?""I didn't mean that, Ms. Everheart. Please don't assume things. Unless… you really are hiding something.""What do I have to hide? I myself want to know of his condition too! I feel very bad that he injured himself while saving me, alright?""How would I know what you're thinking, Ms. Everheart? There's a possibility that you want to avoid taking responsibility if Stef's condition is worsening, so…"The two then started fighting with one another, each providing quite valid arguments."Enough!" Francine yelled furiously, causing the entire room to fall silent. Her face was frosty as she poin
"Calm down, Madam Francine!" Renee was having a hard time moving around with a cast and an IV drip connected to her arm.Francine was quite a bad-tempered person. On the verge of a meltdown, she would've choked Renee to death if it weren't for the little bit of rationality she had in her."I'm giving you one last chance to tell me where Stef is! As long as you're willing to tell me, I can look past everything! I just want to know if my son is safe! Please, I'm begging you!" Francine was still holding onto Renee's shoulders, her insanity replaced with despair as tears welled up in her eyes.As a mother, she was willing to risk her life for her child."I already told you—I don't know either! I didn't even expect him to come save me! I have no reason to harm him, nor do I have any reason to hide him from you, alright?" As a mother herself, Renee understood how Francine felt, so she didn't blame her for her actions. If the roles had been switched, she wouldn't have been as level-head
"Come at you, right? No problem. Just don't beg for mercy later." Liam was the "Supreme Overlord" who even The Great Eight of Beach City shied away from. He was the best at dealing with such pretentious sluts like Briar.Cracking his knuckles, he sneered and said, "It's been a long time since I boxed, and my hands can't wait. In the past, when I boxed, one of my favorite things was using a bad women's face as a sandbag. It was so much fun to give them each a punch and bruise their face. Now that you are the one who asked for it yourself, nobody would have more pleasure than me to do the honors…""D-Don't come near me. I am a member of the Hunts. If your dare to hurt me, the Hunts will not let you go easily!"Briar had long heard of Liam's "terrifying" deeds.This young man was fearless on account of being favored in the Osborne family, and his means were particularly ruthless, so much so that anyone who had seen it would stay as far as possible away from him. Literally no one had
"You are biting off more than you can chew!" Francine interrupted icily, "You should know the status of KCL in the field of electronic science and technology. They've only collaborated with Hunt Enterprise all these years. How can a fledgling company like yours work with them just because you want to?""That's right!"Briar, who was hiding behind Francine, also raised her voice. "With the scale of Azure Group, you are not even worthy of holding a candle to KCL; what more work with them. I think this is exactly why you used such an insidious method to harm Stefan. You were hoping that Hunt Enterprise and KCL would not be able to collaborate…"Liam nearly burst out laughing when he heard this. "I can't agree with you. I admit that KCL is strong, but they are not that unattainable. Strictly speaking, I have a good relationship with the boss of KCL!"Briar snorted disdainfully, "You must be bragging. Even Stefan did not have much contact with the boss of KCL, much less a person of your
"What is it, Madam Francine? Is there any news of Stefan?" asked Briar anxiously."Yes." Francine nodded without the slightest joy on her face."That's great. How's Stef now? Where is he? Did he say that it was them who did it to him?" asked Briar eagerly.She guessed that something unpleasant must have happened between Renee and Stefan. Liam's reaction wouldn't have been so defensive otherwise.Now that Stefan was found, she certainly wasn't about to let them escape!After a long silence, Francine said with a complicated expression, "Stef is… quite well. We have misjudged Ms. Everheart and Mr. Osborne.""What?" Briar and Liam shouted simultaneously in surprise."It's good that he's okay." Renee was relieved to hear the news.Liam would've concealed something to not make her worry, but a calculating person like Francine would've pounced on her long ago if something bad happened to Stefan. As Francine had no reason to hide from her, she had reason to believe that Stefan should b
Renee's expression was very calm, and she said with confidence, "We will just do what we should. Azure Group was not affected by Hunt Enterprise in the past, and so will it be in the future. Hunt Enterprise has been prosperous for so long, but it is time to change that. We'll let them taste how it is to be under the thumb of someone."Liam's confidence was boosted instantly. He looked at Renee with starry eyes as if gazing at his only God. He admired her so much that he could practically kneel down in front of her. "Don't worry, Boss. I have already set up the press conference site. Whether it is the media or our peers, they won't be attending this press conference just for fun. We shall let the whole nation watch how the magnificent Hunt Enterprise falls from grace!"The man was very excited. He and Renee had waited too long and put in too much effort for this day, so only success was allowed, not failure.He could not deny that the incident of Stefan happened just in time.Supp