Meanwhile, her useless brother was indolently lying on the couch, sound asleep. His clothes were still in perfect order. Not even his hair was the slightest bit ruffled up!There was no need to guess. There was definitely nothing "interesting" going on last night at all!Leia sighed. These two had been dragging it out for close to ten years now, yet they were still stuck in this ambiguous "friend zone" after all this time. She was almost irked to death thinking about it!"Ahem!" Leia dragged her feet into the room and yanked the curtain open, flooding the room with bright sunlight. "Wake up, both of you! Time to get up!"Liam woke up with a grimace and promptly got up to his feet and grabbed his sister from the back by the collar of her shirt."You little shithead!" he hissed. "So you finally opened the door, huh? You're getting too bold for your own good if you have the audacity to play this kind of stupid prank! If you didn't think that I'd teach you a sore lesson today, then yo
Liam and Leia exchanged looks. They thought that Renee was still sleeping soundly, so they decided to take the call for her. But before they could reach for her phone, Renee suddenly got up without a word and calmly answered the phone."Hello, Officer. Yes, I'm Renee Everheart. Aiden Everheart is my son. Is there any news of his whereabouts?"The conversation went on for a little longer, then she finally nodded and said, "Okay. I'll be there right away."Renee's lovely face was calm and serene. There was not a trace of perturbations at all, and she showed no emotion throughout the whole phone call. Instead, it was the twins who were excited and agitated to no end by the latest development."Was that the police, Ren?" Leia asked with gleaming eyes. "Have they finally found Adie?""The officer only told me that they've caught the person who kidnapped Adie," Renee answered calmly. "As for the rest of the details, we'll have to go there to find out."After speaking, she then nonchala
The police officer in charge of recording the interview could not help looking up at Renee. He frowned and reproached, "Your son has been missing for so long, and you still wouldn't report it to the police? Don't you think you're being too reckless as the parents? Thank god the child was clever enough to report it to the police himself! Although we still haven't figured out where he is, we've caught the suspected kidnapper, so the situation might not end up so serious after all."Renee nodded repeatedly, "You're right, Officer. We, as adults, have certainly been too neglectful."But in her head, she silently thought, 'I wonder which unlucky guys had to deal with Adie this time. They should count their blessings if they didn't end up getting sold into a human trafficking ring by him!'Aiden had run away on his own many times before, so it was inevitable that he would encounter bad guys with sinister motives against him, but each time it always ended with the kidnappers calling the po
After considering Renee's request, the police officers agreed to leave the room. Only Renee and Briar were left in the interrogation room, even though in truth, their every word and their every move were monitored by the police.Although she was handcuffed, Briar still appeared proud and arrogant. She chuckled menacingly and asked, "Did you think that I'd tell you where your son is just because you chased them away?"She chuckled again. "You're too naive! The only reason why I attacked your son is that I wanted to take revenge on you. Now that I see how much you suffer, there's no way that I'd back down!""Suffer?" Renee nonchalantly leaned back against the chair with a cool and carefree sneer on her face. "What makes you think that I'm suffering? I know how smart my son can be, and I'm confident that he'll find his way out of trouble in no time. As for you… as soon as I insist on bringing on the charges against you, there's no other outcome for you but to spend the rest of your lif
"Thank you for all your hard work. I'll excuse myself now."Renee then nodded slightly at the police officers, turned around, and left.Meanwhile, Liam and Leia had been anxiously waiting for Renee in the waiting area. As soon as they saw her coming out, they rushed toward her in excitement."You're finally out, Boss! So what's the situation? Do we know Adie's whereabouts now?"Renee had no desire to say too much, so she simply told them, "If you see Briar coming out later, capture her immediately. She knows where Adie is.""Briar Desrosiers?" Leia lost her temper as soon as she heard the woman's name. "That nasty bitch! Why does it have to be her again? Don't tell me that she's the one who kidnapped Adie?"Renee neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, she turned to Liam and said, "I must rely on you for this. I believe the Osbornes are vastly experienced in this sort of matter."The Osborne family started their business by dealing with many underground groups and black market
Liam had been waiting outside the police station for ages, but Briar was still nowhere to be seen. His patience was wearing thin, so he threw caution to the wind and went inside to ask the police officer who handled Briar's case. That was when he found out that Briar had been released a long time ago."Damn it!" Liam cursed with a scowl before immediately reporting the development to Renee."I'm sorry, Boss. This is all my fault. That cunning woman must've guessed that we were trying to ambush her outside, so she escaped through another exit.""Never mind. I'll find another way then."At the time, Renee was sitting in front of the computer in her apartment, her fingers incessantly tapping on the keyboard as she tried to track Briar's movements in the past few days. She found out from the police officer in charge that Briar was arrested in a five-star luxury hotel, so she hacked into the surveillance system of that hotel to sniff out any helpful clues.She did not find any clues. S
Leia felt that she had committed a heinous crime against her best friend. Tears poured down like rain on her face as she took Renee's hands and slapped them on her own body, wishing that she could make amends to Renee by dying."Nonsense! How can I ever blame you? The only person at fault is that bastard, William."Renee gently wiped away Leia's tears and patiently explained to her as if she was Leia's mother, "Now you've learned your lesson, right? Men are completely unreliable, so from now on, you must always be on guard. Don't just listen to your heart; use your brain as well. Otherwise, someone could be playing you like a fiddle, and you won't even notice it!"Leia nodded repeatedly. She clenched her fists and angrily vowed, "I'll never forget it! Being with men only leads to a lifetime of misfortune, and trusting in men only leads to three whole lifetimes of misfortune! Once I'm done killing that b*stard William Jones, I'll become a nun and live in a monastery for the rest of m
After that fierce beating, it soon attracted a lot of onlookers to surround that scene. Renee found a relatively remote place and casually sat down. After that, she crossed her legs elegantly. She would protect Leia if William dared to resist, and teach him a hard lesson. However, William's reaction was beyond her expectation. Leia slapped him four or five times hard, but he did not even frown. He still wore a passionate and loyal expression. "Lei, can I hug you?" William's cheeks were filled with finger marks, but he extended his arms as if he felt no pain. He just wanted to pull his beloved woman into his arms. "Don't you fucking touch me! You scumbag!" Leia became angrier as she moved both her hands to slap him several times until her hands ached. The onlookers could not take it anymore, and they started criticizing her. "This woman is too violent! Does she think she's a princess? She can't slap her man this way, no matter how much he adores her. If she were my wom
Liam hit the nail on the head. "If you informed Xavier to join the rescue, you must be lying. It's illogical! But it's weirder if it's the other way around. He should have informed his buddy to come to the rescue instead of the guy's rival in love. Am I right?"Justin leaned against the seat and said calmly, "How strange. Why is it illogical if I informed Xavier to come here?""If you learn that your beloved woman is in danger, you'll come to her rescue immediately instead of wasting time with your rival's buddy. Telling your rival is risky, too. He might even snatch the chance to save the damsel in distress. Am I right?" Liam analyzed logically, his logic irrefutable. Justin spread his hands helplessly. "No wonder you've been Phoenix's lackey for so many years. You're meticulous. Yes, I found out from Xavier. He hoped I could come with my men to fight the fort. He knows that among many families, only mine could acquire such a powerful rescue team."In the past, among the thre
Previously, Liam felt that Benjamin was very kind to his daughter Amber despite his aloofness. Amber should be his weakness. Gradually, Liam learned that Benjamin was a naturally aloof man who always weighed the pros and cons. No one would ever be his weakness unless it affected his interests. If Amber were truly his weakness, he would first consider her lifetime happiness. Instead, he cared about his interests and reputation. He had quickly agreed to let Amber marry an unsuitable match. "He has no weakness…" Justin touched his chin and frowned contemplatively, then sighed. "It'll be very hard to handle him if he has no weakness. He's crazy and desperate. If we fight him, I'm afraid things will be out of control.""No, we won't fight him," Renee said calmly. "Plus, he has a weakness. It isn't a human, but his interest and power."Liam spent a long time to find that out, but Renee saw through Benjamin the first time she confronted him. At that time, Amber challenged Benjamin to
"It's because Phoenix and I share a telepathic connection!" Justin remained carefree and sounded ambiguous."Telepathic? Why didn't you say it was a tarot reading?" Liam glared at Justin grumpily."Do you take me as a kid? Stop using such a bizarre excuse! If you share that with her, you would be the one who had kids with her."Justin's expression grew hideous because of Liam's nasty words. He complained to Renee, who was sitting beside him. "Phoenix, your lackey is fierce as if I'm indebted to him. He and I don't hold grudges against each other. Plus, I saved him. Why does he find me an eyesore?""Don't take him too seriously." Renee remained indifferent. "He's just worried about me and that you might hold some bad ideas about me.""Well, his worries aren't wrong." Justin didn't hide his feelings for Renee. "Yeah, I do have feelings for you. I wouldn't waste so much time and make such a huge effort to come here to rescue you if I don't want anything to happen between us… Now th
"What do you mean?" Renee was confused. She looked toward the soldiers, and found them familiar. "They're… They're…"Justin didn't reply to her, and instead said to the high-spirited team, "Don't just stand there! Salute!"The soldiers saluted Renee in unison and shouted, "General!""General? Me?" Renee asked in disbelief, her eyes widening even more. "Of course!" Justin smirked and added, "Did you forget? This is the wedding gift my grandpa got for you. He's been training them recently. Now, it's finally the time to make great use of them. They performed well this time and didn't embarrass the Baldwin army.""Oh, I remember that…" Renee instantly remembered how that army came about.Back then, she occasionally went to North City with Justin. The entire Baldwin family liked her, especially Austin. He insisted on her getting married to Justin and gave her the most elite army team as a wedding gift without any hesitation. At that time, Renee loved that team very much. She also s
Renee shook her head and frowned. She asked Xavier solemnly, "You weren't the one who spoke just now. So… Who else came with you?" They were tied up just now, so Renee could not see who threatened their enemies behind them. However, she was sure that Xavier didn't come alone for the rescue."Who else do you hope came with me?" Xavier smiled and asked Renee curiously."I don't hold such hope. All I know is that no matter who came to save us, they wanted some value in us in exchange," Renee said, her tone calm but her words cruel.Of course, one person would appear in her mind. Yet, she was too timid to hold such hope. Besides, that wasn't his voice either. Someone else must have come with Xavier. "Who else could it be? It must be someone powerful to outflank Macsen's men. I'm sure you know who that is," Leia said meaningfully. "He finally did something good.""Stop saying nonsense since you don't know." Xavier tried to stop Leia because of the complicated situation. It couldn't
"It's you?" Leia's eyes went wide. She looked at the man before her in surprise. Everything happened so suddenly, making her seriously doubt if it was her illusion before she got killed.It was none other than Xavier, her only regret before she died. "Yes, it's me!" Xavier hugged Leia, feeling sorry for her. He kissed her lips, which had gone pale because of her fear. He kept kissing her as if he had finally found the treasure that he had lost. Surprise and sadness overcame him. "Luckily, I came in time. You're still alive… I'm sorry to have made you suffer. I'm a useless boyfriend!"When his passion grew, he ignored the rest and kissed Leia passionately."Mm…" The kissing made Leia dizzy. She frowned in embarrassment and turned away. "What's going on? What are you doing here?""I got news that you're in trouble." Guilt gleamed in Xavier's eyes. "I should have paid more attention to you. I wasn't worried when you told me that you went on a trip with Renee. After all, she's
While Macsen was talking, his subordinate reached Leia and grabbed her neck with one hand. A light was reflected on the shiny machete; it seemed he was about to slash Leia.Frightened, Leia hunched and screamed in terror. "Ah, no! Save me, Liam! Ren, save me!" "Stop!" Reia yelled at Macsen, anxious. "What do you want to let us go? Tell me, I'll do it!"At first, she was carefree. She was fine even if she got killed and couldn't be bothered to resist. However, she grew restless since her friend was about to be harmed. She would rather take Leia's place. "Stop stalling for time. You've used this trick too many times tonight. Do you think I'll be fooled again?" Macsen sneered. "You're too vicious and nearly bit off my neck. I'm just avenging myself!""Then, you're asking for trouble!" Renee's gaze grew sharp. "Listen. If you harm her, you'll die very miserably right away!""Hahaha! Stop bluffing!" Macsen laughed. "People who can save you now can't even protect themselves. Plus, th
"What?" When Leia heard that, she swallowed and her hair stood on end. Although she didn't know what it meant, using human skin was terrifying. "You guys look confused. I'm sure you don't know what that is…" Macsen was calmer since his neck was bandaged. He said generously to his subordinate, "Come and explain it to them. Prepare them for fear that the lamp might not be bright enough because they're too nervous.""Okay, boss!" Macsen's subordinate nodded. He walked to them and said arrogantly, "Well, we'll use a machete to skin people from head to toe to make lamps. The light from these lamps is blurry and beautiful. It's a top and valuable item.""That's crazy!" After listening to that explanation, a chill ran down Leia's spine. She gnashed her teeth and said to Macsen, "Are you out of your mind? That's a crazy habit! Aren't you worried the victims might come demanding your life in the middle of the night?"The people here were used to a human lamp, so it became common among th
The three of them rolled their eyes in unison and looked speechless."Look, Liam. She's the top love-struck idiot. She'll never learn though she'd suffered much." Leia shook her head and sighed. She felt sorry for Renee's bad luck and disappointing actions.Although Leia was a love-struck fool herself, she was better than Renee. She would quickly retreat if she found anything wrong unless the guy shamelessly pestered her. Also, he had to show his sincerity. Only then would she forgive him. Renee was way worse. She suffered countless times because of one single man, but she didn't even hate him. She even wanted to ask him if they could start over.No one could be as "humble" as her.Renee used to be a bright and awesome figure, and it seemed like there was nothing she could not resolve. Yet, she lost herself several times because of a man. It infuriated Leia. Leia was not alone in feeling that way. Liam shared her sentiments and gnashed his teeth furiously. "Seriously, I wonde