ログインChase looked confused. "I know the painting is valuable since it's Somerset's authentic artwork, but it's not valuable enough for both you and the boss to care this much. He even wants to dig into everyone who's ever owned it. It's way too unusual."As far as he remembered, Quinton had never cared about paintings or antiques. The only thing that interested him was how much profit they could bring. He never asked about their history or their previous owners."I can't really explain it, either. Maybe this painting just has some strange connection to the Everheart family. The first time I saw it, I was very young. My mother kept it hidden in a secret place. She would stare at it for long periods of time."Renee drifted into memory. She often caught her mother standing silently in front of the painting. She would trace every brushstroke as if holding a wordless conversation with someone.The moment she noticed Renee or anyone else approaching, she would immediately put the painting a
When Chase felt Renee's fingers brush against his skin, he visibly froze for a second. He then awkwardly pulled away and took a sip of coffee to hide his unease."Ms. Everheart, you're overthinking this. There's really no need to worry. I believe the boss has his own reasons."Chase knew where to draw the line. He was very careful with what he said.Hearing that only irritated Renee more. She frowned. "Chase, I know you're loyal to my brother, but your blind loyalty isn't doing him any good. You know better than anyone how extreme he can be, don't you?""You've misunderstood him. His temperament has improved a lot. When he makes decisions now, he considers things from multiple angles. He's not as hot-headed as he used to be!"Chase defended Quinton almost immediately.It came from his observation of Quinton over time.With Renee's companionship and guidance, Quinton had stopped being the impulsive, hot-tempered, and extreme man he used to be.He could even see that Quinton had
Chase nodded and walked over to Renee. "Ms. Everheart, if there isn't anything else, I'll take you to the lounge to rest. The boss still has other matters to handle."Renee looked at him in surprise. "Chase, what's wrong with you? Didn't you hear what Quinton just said? He's planning to go back to doing dangerous, illegal things! Weren't you always against Carmine Pawnshop heading in that direction? You should be helping me talk him out of it, not blindly going along with him!"She still remembered how, when Stefan had been posing as the owner of Carmine Pawnshop, he'd cleaned up many of the business' shady dealings. Chase had played a big role in that. He had been a true believer in Stefan's ideals and carried them out faithfully.Later, when Quinton returned and exposed Stefan's deception, Chase decided to stand by Quinton. Even so, he had secretly adhered to Stefan's ideologies behind the scenes. He slowly guided Quinton toward that same business model even at the risk of angerin
Quinton froze for a moment. He stared at Renee for a long time without speaking. He probably hadn't expected her thoughts to go in that direction. Oddly enough, he seemed relieved."Yeah. I'm planning to do something shady. Since it's not meant to be seen, maybe you should pretend you never heard any of it!"He bared his hands and admitted it openly.Quinton would rather Renee think he was a terrible person than let her uncover secrets that would only make her sad or even hurt her.Besides, in Renee's eyes, this brother of hers who'd suddenly reappeared in her life had never exactly been a saint. He was already known as the secret owner behind Carmine Pawnshop. There wasn't much left to clean up. He might as well remain the villain."What? Are you seriously planning to go down that path again?"Renee stared at him in disbelief.She hadn't expected him to admit it so openly. He sounded less like a man choosing the wrong path and more like someone proudly walking the right one. He
Renee realized she had been caught. She swallowed hard and figured she should make a quick escape.As if her shoes had been greased, she slipped and landed right inside.Quinton and Chase looked down at the sprawled-out Renee. They were both startled."What are you doing, Renee?"Quinton snapped out of it and hurried over to help her up. He checked to see if she'd hurt herself."Nothing. I just came to look for you guys. I slipped and fell, that's all. I'm fine, really."Renee waved it off casually and tried to justify her eavesdropping even when she was already feeling terribly embarrassed."You're fine, but I'm not."After making sure she wasn't hurt, Quinton's expression turned stern.The second Renee saw that look, she knew she was done for. There was no way she could smooth this over so easily. She forced an innocent smile."What's wrong, Quinton? Did I interrupt something? Sorry about that. I'll leave you two to talk."She turned around to leave, but before she could t
"That won't do," Renee refused immediately.She was curious about what had happened to Quinton, but Joanne clearly needed her more. There was no way she would just leave Joanne behind."Why not? I'm not a baby. The house is only a few hundred yards from Abby and Adie's school. I can pick them up and take them home myself. Nothing will happen. Don't worry!"Joanne held Renee's hand while she explained calmly."But…"Renee wavered a little after hearing that.After all, the house really wasn't far away from school. The kids were exceptionally smart. Couldn't they look after Joanne for her?Most importantly, Joanne had been emotionally stable lately. She was almost like a normal person now. Maybe there was no need to be so overly cautious."Don't hesitate. Trust me and the kids. I'm really fine," Joanne said with a reassuring smile.Renee bit her lip and nodded. "Alright. I'll leave for a bit and come right back. If anything happens, call me immediately."After giving Joanne som
After that, Owen fished out a stethoscope. He was about to put his hand under Renee's clothes."Wait!" Stefan yelped, and pushed Owen's hand away. "What are you doing?""I'm trying to listen to her heartbeat. What do you think I'm doing?" Owen asked in bewilderment."Let me do it." Stefan took the ches
Since Renee was blind, her senses of touch and smell were extremely sensitive, and she knew the library had been transformed the moment she entered it. The former smell of books had been replaced by the smell of disinfectant, and even the lights felt hotter, like the lights found in hospitals. At th
Hearing that, Stefan frowned in displeasure. "What's there to say to him, Grandpa? He didn't have to leave the room when we talked, so why do I have to leave when you want to talk to him?" Recently, Timothy loved chatting with Jovan secretly. Stefan didn't know what they talked about, and the feelin
After spending some time together, both of them started to feel a little bored."Ren, do you want to walk around the nearby garden? A lot of things have changed around here. At first, there were plans to build a factory here, but the residents protested and decided to make it a habitable neighborhood







