"What happened? Calm down and tell me," Renee said. Her brows furrowed deeply as she helped Leia, who was trembling in exhaustion, up."My brother... My brother is in trouble!" Leia exclaimed, her pretty face now as pale as a ghost. She took a deep breath before stammering, "Earlier, he went to get a loan at the bank to solve Azure Group's financial issues. He used his shares in Osborne Enterprise as collateral. Initially, everything was fine. He simply needed to repay the money on time. But somehow, my father got wind of it..."Renee's grip on Leia's arm tightened as a foreboding feeling of dread overcame her. "What happened?""You know how my father is. When he's angry, he doesn't care about anything. You know how we Osbornes started our business in the grayer parts of the industry, don't you? He's using his old ways to punish Liam! M-my father will beat him to death at this rate!" Leia gushed out everything and burst into tears.She looked helpless as she begged Renee, "Ren, p
"Dear, stop beating him! If you continue, you'll kill our son...!" Hayden cried as she held Liam in her arms. Tears flowed down her face as she begged, "Liam is your only son! You have a huge business! If you kill him, who will inherit it?""Mom, I don't like that you said that!"Laura, the third daughter of the Osborne family, sneered, "You make it sound like we're not part of the family! What? Did you pick us up from the roadside? Even if Liam is no more, it's not like the Osborne name will go extinct! What century are we in? Why do you still prefer sons over daughters?""That's right!" Geronimo exclaimed. "Liam is not my only descendent! If I beat this loser to death, I still have six daughters! Every single one of them brings me less heartache than this loser, especially Laura! The family business I handed her has flourished these years, and I'd be at ease if I handed them all the business!"Laura smirked, then said to Liam, who was kneeling in the middle of the room, "When you
"Oh? Did the sun rise from the west today? The redhead whose shoes my son has been licking has finally decided to show up?" Geronimo hissed venomously as he studied Renee from head to toe as though he was looking at a commodity.Then, he sneered, "Are you really willing to pay any price to save this loser?"Renee nodded, her eyes determined. "I've never gone against my words.""Good. At least you still have some conscience."There was a complicated look in Geronimo's eyes when he looked at Renee, and it was unclear if it was appreciation or contempt. Then, he said in a vague tone, "You have quite a devastatingly beautiful face, I must say, to be able to charm my son to this extent..."Liam, who was still kneeling on the ground, furrowed his brows when he heard that. "Boss, just ignore me and leave!" he pleaded emotionally. "I'm my father's favored child! No matter how angry he is, he won't kill me. But if you fall into his hands, I don't dare to imagine what kind of sick things he
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief but didn't forget to take a jab where they could."All of you, shut up! Don't talk about Ren that way! Have you forgotten that she saved Liam and me before? With our family's status, even if we cultivated another eight hundred years, we'd still be unable to match up with Ren!" Leia yelled angrily at her family, and her cheeks flushed red."Take her away!" Liam ordered Leia, his head hanging low and fists clenched.His goddess and savior had been humiliated by his family! He was so ashamed that he couldn't even find the courage to look at Renee!"Geronimo, you better beat me to death today, or it’ll be your fault that I become a rebel!" Liam coldly warned Geronimo.Although the older man was his respected father, he had touched something precious of his! It wasn't something he could tolerate!"You stupid beat! How dare you say such damning things to me just for the sake of a used woman! Fine! I'll fulfill your wish and beat you to death!"Geroni
Renee was already walking out of the Osborne Mansion when she heard Liam shouting her name from behind. She stopped but did not turn around."Why are you following me?" she asked him coldly. "Just go back and get a good rest. That whipping must've done a great deal of damage to your body. Be careful, or it might make you impotent.""Boss…" Liam's lips were pale. His whole body seemed fragile and his handsome face was twisted by a look of excruciating pain. "I'm so sorry, Boss! Please don't be angry with me!"All these years, his family never liked it when he was too close to Renee, but as long as he made sure to keep it all under a low profile, they always kept their distance and never interfered too much with his life. But he made a mistake this time. Had he not taken such a monstrous risk and angered his father, Renee would not have been humiliated by his own family."You idiot… How could I possibly be mad at you?!""Then why are you turning your back on me? You don't want to se
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."Renee waved her hand goodbye and walked away. But she soon paused and turned around to ask Liam, "By the way, do you know where Carmine Pawnshop's exact location is?""Why do you want to know?" Liam was immediately alarmed by her question. "What are you planning to do?""Just answer the question!" Renee replied sternly, looking displeased."It's near the Water Dock, but it's a really dangerous place, Boss. It's a lawless no man's land where even the Devil himself could get conned out of the clothes on his back!"Liam had been to that place with his father once or twice before, and it left a distinct impression in his mind. Suffice it to say, the experience had fueled his nightmares ever since!"Besides, Carmine Pawnshop is nothing like the ordinary pawn shop that you might expect. You must know that the pawn shop's owner, Mr. Q, is known as the Midnight Demon. Don't even think about making a deal with him—it's no different than selling your s
It was one in the morning. Everything was quiet and peaceful everywhere else, but here at Water Dock, things had only just warmed up. It was the most chaotic time of the day, when all kinds of colorful characters began to show up.Renee had come to Water Dock on her own, with nothing but a "top-secret" map of the area that she had bought at a high price from the second-hand market. She headed straight to Carmine Pawnshop.Water Dock had indeed lived up to its reputation. It was every bit as much of the lawless, "no man's land" it was rumored to be, where burning, looting, robbing, and killing took place at almost every corner. Anything that was too sickening to be found in civilized society was nothing but a normal occurrence here. It was truly a dreadful place to be.The whole area of Water Dock was actually not that large, but it was divided into three main zones—upstream, midstream, and downstream.The upstream area was at the outermost edge. It was relatively the most "normal"
The old man raised his eyebrows, and with a half-smile said, "You are the granddaughter of Liliana Schneider, the heroine of North City, correct?"The smile on Renee's face faded. She became serious in a heartbeat as she asked, "How did you figure that out?"If he had guessed her name correctly, she could still have assumed that the old man must've loved reading gossip about famous people. As Stefan's ex-wife, her name and face were considerably recognizable. But the old man managed to guess her grandmother's name, and that was nothing short of amazing, because the Everheart family never publicly announced that the woman her grandfather married was the one and only Liliana Schneider from North City!"It looks like I got it right." The old man stroked his beard, then asked, "Do you believe in my skills now?""If you figured that out based on your fortune-telling skills," Renee clasped her hands together, "then you must be the master of all master fortune-tellers! I humbly bow to you