The group of people proceeded to leave hastily just as they had arrived. Once they were in the car, Anthony said, "I will make some calls to ask around the locals here. We will probably hear some news soon." Nathan was also anxious and filled with regret. He was mad at himself for having stalled for a few days. Earlier, Hilda had asked for the child's photographs. According to the owner of the house, the child was delivered to them when she was just two months old. Plague and Yvonne gave the couple a large sum of money to look after the child. They even asked the couple to send the child to the best school in the area and to treat her as their own while they continued to pay them generously. Every so often, Plague and Yvonne would transfer money to that couple's bank account, but they never showed up in person. They usually had the couple mail photographs of the child at given times. From the photographs the couple had given Hilda, she could tell that the child was being raised
The black market was a place where people were trafficked. It was an illegal industry that the government had no control over. They had been in existence for centuries, ever since the maritime period. Behind closed doors, conglomerates and government officials continued to tacitly approve of them. Hence, they had never gotten banned. Every day, people were delivered like goods in mass quantities to be sold off. There were men, women, and children, anyone that had a value. Hilda and Nathan drove for an hour before they arrived at their destination. Getting out of the car, it looked like a regular shopping street. All they saw was famous international luxury brand retail stores, exclusive stores, and even the Jordan Group's high end mobile phones. It was a woman's paradise. Nathan turned to Hilda and said, "You can take a look around here. Jayden and I will go down first. I'll come and get you once I'm done." But, it was not an ordinary day and Hilda was unwilling to take a step aw
The following day, after their visit to the black market, the two men went to the Bowen Residence to find the child. Hilda did not go with them this time. She felt like she would ruin things if she went with them again. She did not go anywhere and only stayed in the hotel to care for the children. She was looking after eight children by herself. If that had been eight Luna's, she would have been exhausted, but these eight children were unusually obedient. They ate as they were told, slept as they were told, and did not speak a word. That, in turn, left her emotionally drained. Even though she did not know the experiences they had prior to this, she knew that it had left them scarred for life. She planned to bring the children back to the country. Trying to find their biological parents did not seem possible now, so she might as well find a reliable family to adopt them. She also wanted to adopt one of them too. Last month, she went for another medical checkup at the hospital, took
The next day, Hilda set off to the Smith Group. Nathan and Anthony also followed along inside the car. As they drove in the city center, Hilda admired the busy streets outside. "The Smith Group has made this place into the capital. Look over here and over there, these are all ancient imperial city plans." The Smith Group headquarters was on the northern side of Smith City. Once they got there, Hilda did not see modern skyscrapers, but a stretch of bright yellow palatial buildings. This is basically a palace! It was even bigger than the Imperial Palace Museum that used to be next to their house. This structure was huge! If it were not for the cars coming in and out of the palace entrance and those busy workers of Smith Group, Hilda would have thought that she had traveled through time. Outside the palace walls, there were several subway stations and several tourists taking photos. Dressed up as a bodyguard, Nathan had a pair of sunglasses on and a dog in his arms. They drove ove
Jerome was drinking tea with a young man. The young man looked so much like Arlo that they were almost indiscernible. That must have been the other vice president of the Bowen Group, Milo Bowen. "You're here. Please have a seat." Jerome looked up at Hilda and motioned for her to sit in the seat across. Hilda greeted them and proceeded to sit down. The four people sat at the square tea table. Hilda was feeling very nervous. After taking a sip of tea to clear her mind, she looked briefly at Nathan who was being kept outside of the garden before bringing her attention back. Jerome spoke in such a gentle tone that it was not apparent that he was the head of the Bowen Family. But, Hilda knew that this man was not as harmless as he seemed on the surface. "The Nobel House in Taadi sells western food, but the one in Smith City sells authentic Taadi cuisine. It fits my taste. I go there at least once a week." Hilda added, "The best Taadi dish at the Nobel House is probably the steamed
The Bowen Family did not want to let the child go so easily. It was no use to try to be nice, they should have been brutal from the start. Once Hilda was far off into the distance, Jerome stood up and casually watched them leave from the gazebo. Looking at Hilda dressed in exquisite business attire from behind, he suddenly let out a smile that reached all the way to his eyes. It was a smile that came from a genuine sense of admiration. "Dad.." Arlo suddenly called. He could see that Jerome was very fond of Hilda. Hilda and the others were long gone, but Jerome remained standing there without moving as he looked at the scenery. As he admired the beauty of the garden before him, he turned back to Arlo and Milo and said, "When you two were younger, you were once kidnapped by the extended members of the Bowen Family. I went to ask them to return you, but they humiliated me. They forced me to choose between the both of you and said the other would be dropped right in front of me." At
The moment they had to part ways, Marie kept wailing and was not willing to leave. Her adoptive father sent their Golden Retriever along with her, so she would not be alone and afraid in a new environment. It would make her feel better to have a familiar pet with her. However, Marie still did not want to go and remained crying at the front door. Biting the bullet, her adoptive parents shut the door and did not come back out again. She continued to stand there and cry. No matter who tried to coax her, she wouldn't move. Nathan, who was carrying Marie's suitcase, was also in a tough spot. If it were possible, he also wanted Marie to stay here. Growing up in a family like that was a blessing. Unfortunately, she could not stay there because only the military could protect her. Eventually, Hilda managed to coax Marie into the car, and they quickly drove off. Once the car started to move, Hilda saw, from the rearview mirror, that Marie's adoptive parents had come out at some point and
From the moment she saw Yaa, she had come up with the idea. It did not seem to make a lot of sense to let Lily and Johnathan raise her. They could raise her instead. Nathan stretched his hand out to caress her head. "I had the same thought." He felt like keeping Yaa by his side was the better option. If he and Hilda could no longer have a second child of their own, then it would not be bad to have Yaa. Yaa grew up overseas and did not know how to speak the local language. She did not know what Hilda and Nathan were saying, but she did not like the place very much either. There were too many people. She only wanted to go home and be with her Golden Retriever. Suddenly, they made a turn and a wide patch of green appeared in front of her along with a rhythmic and sonorous sound "One. Two. Three. Four. One, two, three, four!" The military troops were training! The energy in those shouts seemed to make even the ground shake. Yaa's eyes glimmered as she looked at the group of vigoro
Three months later, the five generations of the huge family were gathered happily together in Nathan's Villa of the Imperial. Old Master Clemon, who was still alive and kicking, held in his arms junior Klaus with a broad smile on his face, while Zis was also all smiles as he held the other junior Klaus. Nathan was staring at Klaus hostilely. "Mr. Klaus, pardon me, but I'll make sure to cut you up into pieces if you get any closer to my daughter!" He held a chilly gaze while asserting his presence. All of a sudden, there was a fierceness about him. However, Klaus only gave him a smirk. "Haha, I don't think you have any say in this, Mr. Clemon." On the contrary, Connie seemed to side with Klaus, as she began chiding Nathan. "You should keep your mouth shut! The kids know what they're doing!" Although Nathan seemed to have backed down, he was still glaring at Klaus. Without warning, Zis, who was the eldest of the in laws, put on a stern look on his face while lecturing Connie, "M
Just like that? Why does she sound so nonchalant about it? My daughter was only six years old when she slept with a twenty year old guy! As her mother, shouldn't she have stopped her? "Times have changed. Besides, the kids are all grown up now, so isn't it normal to have desires? Don't you worry, as I gave her detailed guidance beforehand, as well as showed her educational videos to teach her more about sex." Hilda explained. Nathan's face blanched, wanting to just faint once more. However, Hilda went on. "Linux even developed a condom that helps relieve the pain, as well as increase the pleasure one experiences during sexual intercourse. It will also alert the users if it detects a virus. Besides, Klaus did a checkup beforehand to ensure that he was clean." "I also told him to be careful so as to not hurt Luna before I agreed to let them have sex." There was a livid expression on Nathan's already pale face. Has the world undergone so much transformation during the past ten year
Justin stood in a corner in abjection before suddenly laughing in a self deprecating manner. He turned around to look for Anne, only to find her still actively trying to approach Luna in an attempt to strike up a conversation with her. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected the girl to be Luna Clemon, the daughter of a security guard whom she despised. After Klaus entered the venue, he didn't even spare a glance at the other ladies present for the occasion, save for Luna, the girl who was the center of attention. As the main protagonist who made her appearance after everybody else, the ball began after Luna showed up. She led the first dance with Giry, who moved in a coquettish manner throughout the entire dance due to how elated he was. After the first dance, some of the guests left the floor to get some rest, while others continued dancing after switching partners. Giry was forced to let go of Luna after that and wait for the next dance on the sidelines as he shouldn't be
There were a lot of prestigious people present for the occasion, including male guests who were members of royal families. Klaus Adams, whom Justin didn't manage to meet, would also be there, so he could seize the opportunity to connect to people of status. Luna won't be able to provide me with such an opportunity. He took a sip out of his wine to forget the feelings of bitterness within him while he admitted his defeat. I don't belong to Luna, nor is the opposite possible, as we belong to two different worlds. All of a sudden, there was a commotion in the hall as the hosts from Smith Group showed up. Jerome Bowen and Connie Frimpong were the ones to show up first, whereas Hilda Adams and Linux Jordan followed behind. They're here! The crowd moved in their direction with anticipation in their minds. The main protagonist will be here soon! The girl who has a net worth of hundreds of billions, as well as being the heir of prestigious families including the Damien Family, the Clemon
Anne also received an invitation to attend the ladies' ball, which was something that someone at the bottom of the social pyramid would never get to know and join in on, they practically lived in two different worlds. It wasn't until then that he knew how different they were. While Justin would never eat street food with Luna, her current boyfriend was willing to do so. Gritting his teeth, Justin left without a word, as if having made a decision. This time, he was finally able to leave her behind, even if they met each other again in the future, he would treat her like a stranger. There was a time when he used to want to spend his life with Luna, as he never met someone as intelligent and kind as her. Even if she was no better than other people, she was at least better than Anne in both regards. However, they could never get together. His family would never agree to the match due to the fact that Luna couldn't help his family climb the social ladder like how Anne could. It wasn't
A month later, the military training ended with Giry having bruises all over his face. On the other hand, both Luna and Klaus had a tan when they returned. They had also gotten to the stage of holding hands all the time with each other. As usual, Connie maintained her deathly glare when she met Klaus. She had arranged a group of people to join the military training, hoping that they could teach Klaus a lesson, but all of them wound up being intimidated by him. Geez! That bunch of cowards! Even Connie herself was beginning to acknowledge that she no longer stood a chance against Klaus by now, say less of anybody else. She was getting older, so it was time to hand things over to the next generation. Now, Klaus was the young, determined, and ambitious one, whereas Connie had aged, so she was no longer the former's opponent. Therefore, she could only watch as Klaus dated her granddaughter. After the military training, Luna's eighteenth birthday was approaching fast, which would mark
Jumping with joy, Luna latched herself to Yaa. "Marie! When did you arrive?" Yaa warmed up to Luna upon seeing the latter. "We'll be welcoming the freshers today. They seem to be a little disobedient! How dare a bunch of newbies be so arrogant?" The girls walked away while they chatted, but Yaa didn't speak with Klaus when they saw each other, as they both considered it sufficient as a greeting when they exchanged looks earlier. Therefore, Klaus pushed his bike while walking beside the girls as they spoke, all the while mentally exclaiming on how Yaa had bloomed into her true self by staying with the Cannons, that was where she truly belonged. Yaa was feared among the freshers. Furthermore, Justin Clark had his name called out directly by her earlier, so he almost burst into tears out of his intense fear for her. At that moment, Adwoa appeared out of nowhere to scare him. "Aha! You're done for! The general called for you! Justin, you should be prepared! The following month will b
The moment Connie's words were heard, Luna's reaction was the most intense. "Grandma, what do you mean by that? Why are you talking about him being worthy or otherwise? We're just friends!" Although we... we kissed the other time, neither of us ever brought that day up again. Therefore, they were still at the beautiful stage where things were fuzzy. Hence, Connie's proclamation burst the bubble, making the situation exceedingly awkward. Klaus, who was eating, stilled for a moment, but he said nothing. Upon seeing this, Connie was in seventh heaven. Finally, I've found his Achilles heel! Putting on her authoritative air as an elder, she loftily asserted, "My granddaughter will never marry a man who doesn't even have a high school diploma." All at once, the atmosphere turned awkward, and Luna's face flushed bright red from mortification. At this time, Hilda hurriedly smoothed things over, exclaiming, "What are you saying, mom? What's this about marrying and all?" She should at last l
The old son in law was indeed zealous, for he brought back gifts for everyone, including Jerome, Connie, and Luna's uncles. Despite Connie's staring match with Klaus earlier, she hugged her gift to her chest, reluctant to put it down for even a second. Klaus's gift to her was a handwritten score from her favorite pianist back when she was young, so she truly loved it. Meanwhile, Adwoa got a set of Western European non mainstream fashionable clothes, and she seemed besotted as well. Klaus even had gifts for Luna's friends, including Giry, Dean, and the others. He distributed the gifts one by one. At the end of it, he took out a tiny gift and waved a beckoning hand toward the back of the house. "Kater!" Woof! A husky scampered out in a mad flurry. Then, Klaus unwrapped the gift to reveal an adorable ball. Gratified, Kater left with it in its mouth. "Tangerine! Orange! Lemon! Gordon! Goldstein!" Upon hearing their names, the few orange cats padded over, meowing all the way. Klaus