The man ignored Janet's response and extended his hand. "Did you say you wanted to pay me back? Pay me now.""I don't have much with me, but I can pay you part of the amount. Give me a few more days, and I'll gather all the money." Janet had some savings over the past few years, but it was nothing much because she had given most of her savings to her parents. It was impossible for her to cough up one million dollars right away. There was no way she would leave with the men; the only option left was to buy time.The men were no pushovers. When she said she didn't have the money, they grabbed her without hesitation. "Since you can't pay us back, you have to leave with us.""Where are you bringing me?" She fought back with an uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach."You'll know when we reach there. I guarantee you'll be happy." The man chuckled evilly, sending a shiver down her spine. She knew that she'd be screwed if she followed them. Unfortunately, the men were too aggressive,
Zack was dead worried and had no time to explain. "Help me look for them. I'll fill you in later." He hung up without giving Gilbert a chance to ask.Gilbert sighed but didn't waste a minute distributing the photos. He instructed his men to start searching. As a tech expert, Zack still had to call Gilbert for help because he was worried that the men would dodge the surveillance cameras in their escape. However, he soon found out that his worries were unfounded. The men were reckless, and their vehicle did not attempt to shun the routes with surveillance cameras. It made Zack's work easier.When he saw where the men parked their vehicle, he jumped in anger and left the villa in his car.Meanwhile, Gilbert was busy helping with the search, but he didn't have the manpower in Bardoff City, nor was he the best at tracking down suspects. Therefore, he called Jenny, thinking the search would be sped up with the Walter family's assistance.Jenny was perplexed to receive Gilbert's call in t
There was no way Zack would allow anything bad to happen to Janet. He broke free of the two men holding him back and rushed toward her. Then, he shoved the man who tried to sexually assault her. "Janet, don't be scared!" He quickly pulled her into his arms and backed away.The man was infuriated. He drew a dagger and pointed it at Zack. "You're courting death, aren't you? But you're at the wrong place. No one would bat an eye even if I killed you here!"Zack stared at him fearlessly. "Isn't money all you want? I'll pay you. Let us go.""I wanted money at first, but I have changed my mind. I want the woman now!" The man was incandescent because no one had the audacity to challenge him like Zack. Janet clutched onto Zack tightly in fear. "Zack, you should go. Don't mind me.""Nonsense!" He turned around to look at her. How could he possibly leave her behind?"Leave that woman behind and bow to me for forgiveness, and I might forgive you," the man demanded as he walked toward Zack.
"Ahhh—" Janet's scream pierced through the air. She ran toward Zack like a madwoman when she saw him get stabbed. Before she could go nearer, she was kicked aside by the man. She lost consciousness right after, but before she blacked out, she seemed to see Zack smiling at her as though he was trying to assuage her. She wanted to tell him how upset she was, but in the end, she didn't have the opportunity to do so.Meanwhile, Jenny woke up groggily at the Old Mansion in Parrington when her phone rang. She was confused when she saw the caller's name. Why would Gilbert call her at this time of night?"Gilbert?" she answered the call. "Why are you calling at this hour?"It was just after 1 am, and she was fast asleep until she was awoken by Gilbert's call, which puzzled her."What?" She was instantly awake after hearing what Gilbert had to say, and she sat up straight in the bed. "Zack's hurt?""Calm down. He's fine. He's at the hospital," Gilbert hurriedly explained to stop her from w
Jenny was taken aback by his proposal. Eyes wide in disbelief, she stared at him. "Drive to Bardoff City?""Yeah." He nodded, thinking it was not a big deal as long as she was down for it.A long silence later, she shook her head. Although she was worried about Zack and wanted to be back in Bardoff City, driving late at night was taxing and posed a risk of an accident. She wouldn't put them through it. "Let's sleep. We can book the earliest flight tomorrow morning." She went back to bed, but it was destined to be a sleepless night.…At a general ward in Bardoff Hospital, Janet finally opened her eyes. She was temporarily disoriented when she saw the unfamiliar environment. Soon, she recalled the events before losing consciousness, and tears welled up in her eyes. She stumbled out of the room and realized she was in a hospital. That gave her a sliver of hope. If she was in the hospital, did that mean she and Zack were saved?She hurriedly stopped a nurse and asked if another patie
When the lights of the emergency room sign went out, Gilbert shifted his gaze away from Janet, relieving her from the pressure, even if it was for a while. She followed behind him, listening to him asking the doctor about Zack's condition."He's not in critical condition, but we'll have to see how he fares in the next 24 hours," the doctor answered. Gilbert thanked him and watched the nurse wheel Zack into the ICU. Since he and Janet couldn't enter the ICU, they lingered at the entrance, not intending to leave.Feeling guilty, she offered, "Gilbert, you should head home to rest. I can watch over him." She made the considerate suggestion because she worried that Gilbert would overexert himself. However, he gave her a hard look. "Zack is my brother. I will watch over him."He implied that she would remain an outsider as long as she wasn't married to Zack.She went silent, not knowing what to say in the situation. The air between them froze. They sat at each end of the bench, an ent
At noon, Janet was back at the hospital on an empty stomach. When Gilbert returned, he found her standing at the entrance to the ICU. He ignored her and called Jenny. He didn't say much after learning that she and Alec had alighted and were on their way to the hospital.“Is Jenny coming?" Janet cast a nervous glance at Gilbert. Although he had never done anything threatening to her, she was fearful of him. In the past, she was fine with Gilbert's aversion as long as Zack loved her. After the incident, she seemed to have lost some of her confidence.Gilbert glanced at her and grunted without offering more details. Since he refused to engage, Janet knew her place and quietly sat by the ICU.Half an hour later, Jenny and Alec showed up at the hospital and hurried to the ICU. There, she saw Gilbert, which angered her. "Didn't you say he suffered minor injuries? Why is he warded here, then?"As a doctor, she knew too well the patient's condition that warranted a stay at the ICU. She rea
Although Gilbert fought a lot with Zack, he still viewed Zack and Jenny as some of the most important people in his life. He was taken in and raised by Jenny's grandfather as a young orphan; to him, Jenny and Zack were family. Therefore, he would never allow Zack to get in danger for a woman, and he was being civil for not pulling tricks to break up the couple."That's enough, Gilbert. Calm down. I know you care a lot for Zack, but we can't do anything about his relationship. It's all up to him. If he's willing to die for Janet, our protests won't do a thing." After the incident, Jenny finally realized that Zack must have fallen hard for Janet. Why else would he sacrifice his life for her? In the beginning, she thought that the couple might break up due to conflicts after some time, but it seemed that she was naive."I don't think he's that stupid. He'll know that the woman isn't for him after this incident. He won't go back to her." Gilbert sounded confident.Jenny didn't share the
That afternoon, Gilbert called off his engagement to the Silveras. He did not pick up a single one of Lottie's calls. When he found Marigold, she was taking Caleb on a stroll around the neighborhood. It had been a while since she'd taken notice of anything related to Gilbert. She suddenly felt how nice it was to have her mental energy spent somewhere else, no longer being so hung up on that man. However, when Gilbert appeared before her, her heartbeat quickened. "Why are you here?" Marigold said, snapping out of her reverie. Gilbert smiled lightly. Without saying much else, he pulled her into an embrace. "Didn't you say that I could come to see you once everything is settled?" Marigold was stunned. She was in disbelief. "So, what you're saying is it's all over?" "Didn't you read the news?" Gilbert was speechless. "No. I didn't want to care." Every time she saw anything about Gilbert and Lottie, she felt miserable. She'd rather save herself the pain and block out anything
In the end, Esther went with Gilbert's suggestion. However, she did not trade Bradshaw Operation's projects with Jenny. She went with the Silveras. For one, she did not trust the Walters. On the other hand, the Silveras and the Bradshaws were going to be united through marriage. They deserved to be trusted more. Gilbert didn't mind. After all, if anything happened to the Bradshaws, the Silveras would not help. With those projects in hand, they would only fall further into debt. The plan was going smoothly. Gilbert had not gone to see Marigold once. He knew that before subduing the Bradshaws, going to visit Marigold would only endanger her. After all, Marigold was safe. Nothing had happened, and Caleb was growing up healthily. One month later, things began to feel off in Bradshaw Operations. After Faust Group received their money, they did not start the project. No one knew what they were doing. Esther was feeling antsy. She prodded Gilbert to ask if there was anything wro
That very afternoon, Esther and Gilbert rushed to Faust Group to sign the deal. Gilbert said he was worried that Alec would change his mind, so he urged Esther to sign it. Only through a written contract would they be able to relax. Esther thought it made sense and agreed to rush to Faust Group with Gilbert.In the meeting room, Alec looked at the two people before him, expressionless. "You have a good son, Mrs. Bradshaw." "I'm flattered. My son had Bradshaw Operations' interests at heart. He'll inevitably be a little insensitive. Please don't hold that against him, Mr. Faust." Esther smiled. She didn't mind Alec's sarcasm because it didn't matter. As long as Bradshaw Operations could truly benefit from this, she didn't care how much Alec mocked her. Alec smiled coldly and slid the contract over to her. "You may flip through it." Esther took it and read through it seriously.If this project succeeded, they would reap massive rewards. However, it required a massive upfront inv
In the following days, Gilbert headed over to Faust Group infrequently during the day. To others, he was there to talk business with Alec. But in reality, it was a different scenario altogether. Vincent brought Gilbert a cup of coffee in Alec's office. Because of all the times he'd been there, Vincent knew what he wanted without having to ask. Alec had a cup of coffee placed before him, too. Everyone thought that Gilbert was trying to convince Alec to give him one of the shares, which was why he always came there, but that was not the case. The collaboration was a set-up. As long as the Bradshaws signed the deal on the project, they would not escape unscathed. Gilbert had planned this for a long time just to trick the Bradshaws into accepting the project. However, the scheme had to be executed perfectly. Since Gilbert buttered up the project in front of the Bradshaws, Alec had to feign disinterest in his collaboration. Otherwise, it would seem suspicious if Alec, a smart ma
After the engagement party, Gilbert officially had a stronghold in Bradshaw operations. Because he was already very capable, he had a lot of supporters. No one challenged him in the company. Most of them sucked up to him because they knew that if things went well, he would be the heir of the company.Gilbert didn't really care about that. He didn't even want to be there for long. He knocked on Esther's door and walked into her office."Come, sit." Esther was all smiles when she saw him. It was more sincere than before.She used to doubt him a lot, but now, although she still had her reservations, she mostly believed in him. In her eyes, no one would reject the chance to inherit Bradshaw Operations. This was basically manna from Heaven. Gilbert just didn't know it back then, and now he did. Gilbert sat down in front of Esther and began reporting the information he had gathered, as well as his thoughts on Bradshaw Operations and his plans for the future.When he presented the inf
Gilbert and Lottie's engagement party was held at Bardoff Grand Hotel on Saturday.A ton of people showed up to their engagement party. After all, the Bradshaws and the Silveras were pretty big names in Bardoff City, and plenty of the other families knew of their true wealth. They all came to attend the party. Jenny and Alec had both received invites. Jenny was Gilbert's sister, and on top of that, they represented the Walters and the Fausts. It was to be expected. At first, Jenny didn't want to go. The party held no meaning to it. It was just a show put on for Esther. It would be a complete waste of her time. However, she was talked into it by Alec. It would be weird if she didn't go. Zack brought Janet to the party. He found Jenny and was in a daze. "Wasn't Gilbert courting Marigold? Why is he engaged to Lottie?" Jenny rolled her eyes. "What have you been doing, Zack? You're really bad at keeping up." Gilbert had been courting Lottie for a while now. If Zack paid attention
Gilbert drove to Jenny's villa, but he was in no rush to get down. He didn't unlock the doors, either. He obviously wanted to talk to Marigold. But Marigold evidently didn't want to. "I want to take my child and leave." She was afraid. What if Gilbert and Lottie married and took her child away? She no longer believed in love. The only thing she believed in was her child. Gilbert tightened his grip when he heard that. "Marigold, the engagement is only for Esther to see. I have no feelings for Lottie." "Who knows? People change. You said you didn't have feelings for me, too." Marigold found this all very amusing. Perhaps this was fate. Gilbert wanted to keep explaining, but Marigold did not give him the chance to. "Just let me and Caleb leave. If what you say is true, you can come to find us once everything is over." And if Gilbert didn't come looking for her, the truth would unfold itself, and she would give up all hope. Gilbert understood that Marigold had already made
Marigold was miserable throughout dinner, but she persevered till the end without being too dramatic. After dinner, they walked to the entrance of the shopping mall.Gilbert went to get the car. Lottie stood with Jenny and Marigold. Watching Gilbert leave, she turned toward Marigold. "I heard that you used to like Gilbert very much." "It's all in the past. It's not worth mentioning." Marigold didn't want to talk about it. She was afraid that Lottie would see that she still liked Gilbert. Most importantly, she was afraid that Gilbert's plan would be ruined. Lottie smiled. "That's true. The past is the past. You're such a nice person. You'll definitely be able to find someone better suited for you in the future." Marigold pursed her lips. Gilbert soon brought the car over. Lottie was about to get into the car, but before she did, she suddenly turned to Marigold and said, "Gilbert and my engagement party will be in a few days' time. If you have the time, you're more than welcom
Everyone was shocked to hear her speak so suddenly. Lottie was stunned, and she explained, "You've misunderstood. That's not what I meant. I just think that if the child follows his father, it'll help him develop better, and you'll be less stressed." "I don't need your concern. I can raise my child alone," Marigold snorted. She did not hold back at all. Lottie looked unpleasant. Gilbert had no choice but to step in. "We'll have our own child together. And whoever likes it the most will get to keep it." Although they knew that Gilbert had meant this for Lottie to hear, Marigold found it extremely upsetting. She looked at Gilbert, and for a moment, she was unable to tell if he was being genuine. She thought of all that Gilbert had said to her last night, saying that he didn't like Lottie and had no intention of marrying her. But he looked to be truly in love. Marigold didn't think she could tell if he was faking it. "I'm sorry. I need to go to the restroom." Marigold didn't w