The disappointment in Richard's eyes made Clark's heart sink. "Grandpa, I just couldn't resist the temptation for a moment... I know I was wrong."Richard's anger deepened. "If you can't resist even a small temptation, how will you handle greater ones in the future? I can't trust you with the Sumner Group. You should resign."Clark was appalled.Just as he was about to speak, Cindy's voice, filled with indignation, cut him off. "Dad, aren't you being too harsh on Clark? He only strayed because Nyla can't have children. Do you really expect Clark to spend his whole life with a woman who won't give him children?"Nyla let out a cold laugh. Cindy was really grasping at excuses for Clark's affair. It was as if his lack of self-control was somehow her fault."Don't you think that's ridiculous? Before Jordyn got pregnant, did he even know that would happen?" Nyla countered."What? That woman is pregnant?" Marie asked, looking at Clark with a mix of frustration and disappointment. "Clar
Richard looked at her with a gaze full of superiority. "You don't have a choice."Nyla's gaze was resolute as she replied, "I have a recording of Clark's affair. If you don't agree, I'll make it public."Her determination was clear—she intended to use this opportunity to divorce Clark.Richard's expression remained cold, unaffected by her threat. "Don't forget, your father is still in the hospital. I don't want to make things ugly, so I hope you'll be smart about this. Once this scandal dies down, I'll arrange for a quiet divorce.""Why should I believe that you'll actually let us divorce?" Nyla pressed."You have no choice but to trust me. Right now, you don't have the leverage to negotiate," Richard stated bluntly.Nyla's hands clenched tightly. For a moment, she considered revealing Cyrus' plot against Harris Pharmaceuticals, but she held back at the last second. Until she had solid evidence that could send Cyrus to prison, she couldn't let the Sumners know what she was aware
If these pieces of evidence were exposed, they would ensure that both Cyrus and Clement spent the rest of their lives in prison.Nyla made several copies of the files and stored them in different locations before finally shutting down her computer.With this evidence in hand, she had the power to fight back if the Sumners failed to keep their promises.Regardless of whether they honored their word, she was determined to hand over these files to the police eventually, ensuring that Clement and Cyrus would face the consequences of their actions.…The next morning, as Nyla arrived at the office, Melody greeted her excitedly. "Nyla! I can't believe it—you're married to Clark Sumner, the CEO of the Sumner Group! Doesn't that mean Mr. Damon Sumner of Prospectus Technology is your uncle?"It was no wonder she had always felt that Damon treated Nyla with a certain level of care—it turned out they were family.Nyla frowned slightly. "How do you know about this?"This explained why she
Surprise flashed in Nyla's eyes. Why would Damon suddenly invite her to dinner?As she hesitated, another message from him appeared on her phone.Damon: [I'll be waiting in the parking lot at 6:30 p.m.]It seemed he wasn't giving her a chance to refuse.Considering that he had helped persuade Richard to agree to her divorce from Clark, she felt she owed him a meal as a thank you.Nyla replied with a simple "Okay". She then put her phone away and focused on her experiment."Nyla, our recent experiments have been going really well. In a little while, we should be able to start testing on lab mice," Melody said excitedly.Nyla shook her head. "It's not that simple. Before we move to trials, we need to go through countless experiments and trial and error to find the best solution. It can take years, even over a decade, for a drug to go from research to market."Melody looked shocked, momentarily pausing her work with the test tubes. "It takes that long?""Yes, and even during tria
Nyla's voice was gentle yet resolute.Damon knew her well enough to understand that once she made up her mind, no one could change it. Thus, he didn't press the matter further.As they arrived at the restaurant entrance, they ran into Clark and Jordyn.The moment Clark saw Nyla and Damon together, his expression turned cold."Uncle Damon, why are you here alone with Nyla?" Clark asked icily."I helped her out with something, and she's treating me to dinner to thank me. Is that a problem? Or are you just eager to provide the tabloids with more material? Perhaps you want to give the paparazzi more evidence of your affair?" Damon retorted.Clark sneered. This restaurant was one of the most private in the city—only the wealthy and influential dined there. The paparazzi wouldn't dare to invade this space."Since we've run into each other, why don't we all have dinner together?" Clark suggested.Damon shot him a frosty glance. "Sitting your pregnant mistress at the same table as your
Clark let out a cold laugh. "If you dare get in the car with Uncle Damon, I'll call my grandparents and tell them he has feelings for you!"Nyla frowned, shocked at how low Clark was willing to go.The air around Damon instantly turned icy. He fixed Clark with a piercing stare, his presence overwhelming. "If you think you can handle the consequences, go ahead and make the call.""Uncle Damon, all you ever do is threaten me with the Sumner Group. But guess what? I don't care about the Sumner Group anymore," Clark said, attempting to sound confident.To Damon, it was almost laughable. He sneered. "You don't care about the Sumner Group? Or is it because your affair photos went viral and your grandfather is so disappointed in you that he's planning to demote you to one of the subsidiary companies? Soon, you won't even be the CEO of the Sumner Group."Clark's face flushed with embarrassment as Damon exposed the truth."It's just a temporary demotion. It doesn't mean I won't have the c
Wren's voice was pleading, but a chill ran down Nyla's spine. This must be the real reason she had called.Nyla had already been blackmailed by Clark numerous times with the promise of a kidney donation for her father, only to be betrayed when the kidney was given to Jordyn's father instead."Wren, I can't agree to this," Nyla replied firmly. "A person can't live without bottom lines. If I compromise this time, I'll be letting Clark control me forever."She had compromised too many times before, each instance leading to more pain and betrayal from Clark. She wouldn't trust him again, nor would she compromise.There was a long silence on the other end of the line, followed by the sound of the call being disconnected.Nyla had no intention of calling back. She simply put down her phone and went to take a shower.…The next few days passed quietly.Clark didn't reach out, and Nyla's life returned to its calm routine.Just when she thought she could approach Richard in about a wee
Richard's call at that moment filled Clark with dread."Grandpa..." he began hesitantly.Richard's voice crackled with anger. "Don't call me Grandpa! I don't have such a foolish grandson! The news about that woman's pregnancy has caused a huge scandal, and it's already affecting the Sumner Group's stock prices. You need to resign and leave the company immediately!"Clark's face drained of color. "Grandpa... what about my transfer to the subsidiary?""Don't even think about it. The board is extremely dissatisfied with you right now. You need to handle this scandal. If you can't clean up this mess, don't bother coming back to the company!" Richard bellowed.The words struck Clark like a bolt of lightning, and panic washed over him. "Grandpa, I promise I'll resolve this as quickly as possible. There won't be a next time. If the board members have concerns, I'm willing to start from the bottom at the subsidiary."If he was expelled from the Sumner Group altogether and barred from the
Valarie froze, staring in disbelief. "You think I don't see us as equals? If that were true, I wouldn't have come here to apologize. I'd be waiting for you to apologize to me instead!"She had rushed over right after work to make things right, only to be met with suspicion. The injustice of it stung."If you really understood you were wrong, you'd accept that my feelings don't just vanish the moment you say 'sorry.' I'm human, not a machine. Your apology doesn't erase everything," Brandon retorted."When I met Michelle before—without you knowing, but with others around—you wanted to break up. Now you've secretly met Stefan and even went to see him after knowing he kidnapped you. What do you take me for? How important is he to you?"Valarie stepped back at the anger in his voice. "So what now? You won't accept my apology, and you want to break up?"Brandon took a deep breath, his gaze lowering. "Let's take a few days to cool off. No contact for now."Valarie nodded. "Fine. Whateve
Valarie sighed. "Fine. I'll think of something...""Good. I have to be up early tomorrow, so I'll talk to you later. Goodnight," Nyla said.After hanging up, Valarie stared at her phone for a while before opening her chat with Brandon. She started typing but couldn't bring herself to send anything.Forget it. He was still mad. She'd deal with it tomorrow.Setting her phone down, she got up to take a shower.…When Valarie woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was check her phone.Nothing. Not a single message.Brandon would always text her "good morning" first thing every day.But today? Silence.He was probably still mad.Pushing aside her disappointment, she got up, showered, dressed, and headed to work.She had meant to apologize last night, but for some reason, it felt even harder today.The entire day, she found herself distracted. Every time her phone buzzed, she snatched it up, hoping it was Brandon—only to feel disappointed when it wasn't.By the end o
"If you really didn't want any misunderstandings between us, you wouldn't have met him today, especially behind my back," Brandon said coldly.Seeing the anger in his eyes, Valarie nodded. "I admit I should've told you. But he invited me to dinner to thank me for covering his mother's medical bills. He even suggested I bring you along, but you were out of town for work, so I didn't mention it."Brandon let out a sharp laugh. "Was it because I was away, or did you never plan to tell me in the first place?"Valarie frowned. "Do you have to twist my words like that? You were on a business trip. If I told you, you'd just overthink it. That's why I kept quiet.""So I should be grateful you were looking out for me, is that it?" Brandon shot back."If you're going to keep talking to me like this, there's no point in continuing this conversation. Ron, stop at the next intersection. I'll take a cab home," Valarie said.Ron Gibson, the driver, hesitated and glanced at Brandon. "Mr. Sumner…
"It's true, Ms. Weir. Let's proceed with your statement first," the police officer said.Valarie had little to say. She had passed out so quickly that she couldn't remember anything afterward. The police officers only asked about her meeting with Stefan.During the questioning, Valarie learned the truth—Stefan had invited her out with the intent to kidnap her, and he had gone through with it.Once they finished, the police officer said, "Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Weir. You're free to go now. Please stay home and wait for further updates."Valarie nodded. "Alright, thank you."As she stepped out of the interrogation room, Brandon was waiting. "Valarie, let's go home."She turned to him. "Brandon, I want to see Stefan."She needed to understand why he had kidnapped her and why he had called the police afterward.Brandon frowned. "You should already know that he and Michelle are half-siblings. He approached you with an agenda from the start. What's the point of seeing hi
Just as the bodyguard was only a few steps away from Stefan, he let out a cold laugh. "Take one more step, and I'll slit her throat right now."The bodyguard froze, hesitating.Michelle's sharp voice echoed. "Don't come any closer! Get away!"She had just felt the blade press harder against her neck.Stefan was a lunatic—he'd actually do it!The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became.Right then, the distant wail of police sirens cut through the night, growing louder as they approached.A flicker of relief flashed in Michelle's eyes. Her bodyguards must have secretly called the police.She was safe!Within moments, five police cars pulled up, surrounding them as a dozen police officers stepped out.Seeing the police, Stefan lowered the knife.Michelle seized the moment and bolted toward the police officers. "Officers, arrest him! He held me at knifepoint! He was going to kill me!"She was still catching her breath when one of the police officers turned to
Stefan let out a cold laugh. "Cover the expenses? Or use my mom as leverage to control me? You already know the answer."Michelle chuckled. "If you don't appreciate my kindness, fine. Transfer her wherever you want. But don't expect a single cent from the Snowdens.""Oh, you'll pay," Stefan said."What?" Michelle frowned, about to speak, when she suddenly felt a blade press against her neck.Her expression shifted instantly. "Stefan, are you insane? One phone call, and your mom will be dead in minutes!"Stefan nodded and smiled. "I believe you. But I just realized something... The Snowdens only have one successor—you. If you die, who do you think will inherit everything?""You're dreaming! If you dare lay a hand on me, my dad will make sure you suffer!" Michelle shouted."That's not your concern," Stefan said.Upon seeing the cold intent in his eyes, a wave of fear finally surged through Michelle.She forced herself to stay calm and locked eyes with him. "What do you want? You
"I'm not doing anything special. What's up? Aren't you supposed to be in a business meeting? How do you have time to call me?" Valarie asked.Brandon replied, "It's all taken care of. My flight is tonight. Want to meet up?"Valarie raised an eyebrow. "What time will you be back in Saintornia?""A little after 11:00 p.m.," Brandon answered.Valarie shook her head. "That's too late. You've been on a business trip for almost a week. You should just go home and rest."Brandon chuckled. "But I really want to see you. How about this? I'll have my driver stop by your place. We can see each other briefly, and then I'll head home. Sound good?"Valarie considered it. His route home would pass by her neighborhood anyway. "Alright. Just call me when you're close. I'm about to have dinner, so I'll talk to you later. Bye.""Okay," Brandon replied.After hanging up, Valarie entered the restaurant.Stefan had reserved a private dining room, and by the time she arrived, he was already inside.
Michelle hung up after delivering her threat.Stefan stood frozen, his body tense with despair.No matter what he did, it seemed he could never truly escape the Snowdens.If it weren't for them, he wouldn't be able to pay for his mother's treatment. Yet, they were the people he hated most. He despised them.He also despised his mother, Lily. If she had never given birth to him, he wouldn't be trapped in this nightmare, stuck in the mud with no way out.And yet… she was the only person who had ever shown him kindness.That fragile thread of family—thin and fraying—still tugged at his heart, holding him back. Even though it hurt, he couldn't bring himself to sever it.…Valarie had just returned home when her mother called her over. She changed into her house slippers and sat beside her."Valarie, when are you and Brandon getting married?" Phoebe asked.Valarie frowned. "Mom, we haven't even discussed that yet.""You're not getting any younger." Phoebe huffed. "You rejected every guy we
The two of them were eight years apart, with different interests and personalities.Some of Stefan's behavior struck Valarie as incredibly immature. But more importantly, she had never seen him in a romantic light.To her, he was more like a younger brother—someone she felt protective of, but not someone she could ever like that way.He should be dating girls his own age, and she should get back to living her own life.With that thought, Valarie accepted the money.Valarie: [Thank you for everything these past few weeks. And… I'm sorry about today.]…Stefan stared at the message on his screen in a quiet park, his lips curling into a mocking smile.Just as Brandon had said—Valarie had only been using him as a distraction. Now that she was back with Brandon, she'd discarded him without hesitation.Taking a deep breath, he deleted the chat and didn't reply.They had always been from different worlds. Now, things were simply returning to how they had been before.Still, he coul