Noah smacked his lips and continued goading Xavier. "Mister, did you kidnap me for money? Daddy doesn't lack money. I'm his precious treasure. Taking me was the right decision."Xavier was lost for words. "If your father is so rich and powerful, why couldn't he protect you properly? How could he let me kidnap you?"Noah was stumped. He hadn't expected Xavier to be so sharp-tongued. Maybe he wasn't completely useless, after all.Noah did not answer. He suddenly clutched at his stomach, his brow furrowed deeply. Xavier realized that something was wrong. "What is it?""My tummy hurts." Noah's voice was very weak.Luckily, Xavier had brought a private doctor along. He immediately called the doctor over to give Noah a check-up.However, the doctor could not find anything wrong. "Mr. Lane, I've checked Mr. Noah's abdomen, and there's nothing wrong with him."Noah clutched his stomach and began rolling around on the bed. "It hurts, I'm going to die… ahhh…."The doctor was stumped. Xav
Xavier was lying beside Noah. Noah saw that he seemed to be asleep, so he stealthily reached for his watch. He was planning to contact Claude once he got off the plane. However, his wrist was empty.He looked down and saw that all his clothes had been changed. Noah's watch had a tracker on it, but now the tracker was gone along with the watch. He sighed.Beside him, Xavier opened his eyes. "Does it still hurt?" Noah hadn't expected him to wake up so easily."No. Thank you, Mister."Mister! Mister! Xavier did not like it at all. He looked deeply at the child in front of him. "What's your name?"Without thinking, Noah answered, "Noah Lander." Noah Lander… His surname was Lander… Xavier looked even more grim.Noah knew that Xavier must have kidnapped him because he had discovered something about Yvette and Noah. However, he was sure that Xavier did not know everything. Otherwise, why would he have asked Noah what his name was?Claude had always hidden the information about their
Xavier thought it was Yvette, so he swiftly picked up the phone. However, he saw that it was Daphne.He picked up impatiently, and her tearful voice came through the phone. "Xav, help me! The Internet is filled with malicious rumors about me."The Internet? Xavier thought about the birthday banquet and how the newspapers had reported Daphne's plagiarism."Someone sent the company and me legal letters today, saying that my new song "A Sliver of Light" was plagiarized."A lawyer even started a rumor on the Internet saying that I built up my fame by plagiarizing. I really don't know what to do now."Xavier couldn't help frowning. "Alright."He hung up and sent a message to the legal department. He wanted them to deal with the person who had started the rumors. He was not interested in the news, so he did not go on the Internet to check.Therefore, he had no idea that the news that had been released was about how Daphne had used sponsorships to get resources from the time of her bir
"Don't worry, Kiki. I'll come and get you tomorrow."Kiki knew that she was going to see Xavier, and she took her hand. "Yvette, don't make things hard for yourself. It's just free accommodation for seven days. I'm not scared. Don't worry."After Yvette got out, she got into a cab. When she turned on her phone, she saw Daphne's Tweet. The bold letters read, "The innocent will be proven innocent!"Innocent? Yvette gripped her phone tightly, and the tips of her fingers whitened.She rushed to the office, only to hear from the secretary that Xavier had hired an executive CEO and was currently resting at home. Xavier, resting? That was the first time she had heard of such a thing. Yvette had no choice but to take another cab to Dewberry Manor.When she got there, the security guard clearly knew that she was coming, and he did not stop her. Outside the huge manor, it was especially quiet. The scenery hadn't changed much.Yvette had just reached the door when she heard a muffled thum
When Yvette recovered, Xavier was already silent. She leaned over and touched his forehead. It was now burning up even more. Yvette got up to go and get the first aid kit.It was still in its original spot, but all the medicine in it had expired. Xavier hadn't instructed anyone to replenish it.Yvette had no choice but to get some ice from the fridge and wrap it in a cloth so that she could bring his temperature down.After that, she ordered some medicine online and got them to deliver it immediatelyWhen she first tried to feed him his medicine, Xavier refused to open his mouth. Yvette had no choice but to add some honey to the medicine before she finally managed to pour it down his throat.No one who had seen how ruthless he was at work would have expected him to have a sweet tooth.Yvette wanted to put him back on the sofa, but he was too heavy, and she did not have much strength. She could only let him lie on the floor.She turned down the air-conditioning in the living room
Yvette was startled. Before she could react, Xavier sat back down on the sofa and looked at her. "I'm unwell. Stay here and take care of me.""Will you let my friend go if I take care of you?"Xavier grunted in agreement. His voice was hoarse and raspy."Alright," Yvette agreed. She wanted to approach him anyway, so this would tie in well with her plans.Xavier leaned back on the sofa, and his stomach ached slightly. He hadn't eaten anything since going abroad last night."Ms. Snyder, you haven't forgotten how to cook, have you? I'm hungry.""I'll order some food for you." Yvette took out her phone.She was about to place the order when he frowned and stopped her. "I want to eat your cooking.""If I cook, you'll have to wait for at least an hour or two," Yvette explained."I can wait." Xavier's intense eyes looked intently at Yvette without looking away. Yvette felt very uncomfortable under his stare. "I'll go and cook now then."Xavier looked at her slender figure, and he
Xavier was in no mood to continue eating. He was too annoyed. How had he never realized how sharp-tongued Yvette was?The sky outside had grown dark, and after a low rumble of thunder, lightning flashed in the sky.Yvette turned on her phone to see that it was already 8:00 p.m. Usually, she would call Viola at this time and also check in on Zachary.A tall figure blocked the light in front of her. Xavier had suddenly appeared behind her. "What are you looking at?"Yvette immediately put her phone away and turned back to look at him. Xavier's complexion looked much better, but his eyes were still sharp."Have you finished eating? Can I go home now?""Why are you in such a rush to get back? Did Claude contact you?" Xavier asked in a measured tone. Yvette felt like he was hinting at something. "What do you mean by that?He was speaking so strangely today. Why did he keep mentioning Claude? At that moment, Yvette's phone rang. She glanced at it and saw that it was Claude calling.
"Is it fun to toy with me? Did Claude teach you this?" Xavier asked, his eyes reddening with each word.As the heavy rain poured outside, Yvette's ears grew damp. She could hear a slight rumbling.She stopped pretending to have amnesia. "I just wanted to say goodbye to the past and start anew."Xavier laughed. He tightened his grip on her wrist and moved closer to her."You wanted to say goodbye to the past by faking your death? Did you ever think about how I would feel?" Xavier touched her cheek with the other hand and found her trembling. "Are you afraid of me?"Yvette bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood before she finally spoke. "I'm begging you, Xavier. Give me my son. He's not yours; he's mine and Claude's son. I beg you, give him back to us."Something seemed to snap in Xavier's head when he heard Yvette say Noah wasn't his son."If I remember correctly, it had been less than a month or two since we decided to divorce when you got together with Claude, right? "Did
Yvette saw that the call was disconnected and decided not to worry about Xavier anymore.…On the other end, Mark stood outside the ICU ward. Up until now, Xavier still hadn't woken up.Tristan came over and checked all the indicators. "There's nothing wrong, so why hasn't he woken up yet?""Mr. Shaw, do you think Mr. Lane might never wake up?" There was a look of concern in Mark's eyes as he asked that. He couldn't believe that the person he had always followed would leave in such a way."Don't overthink it," Tristan said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.Suddenly, there was a noise from the outside."Who are you? This is a private hospital. No one else is allowed to be here.""How can you resort to violence?"There was the sound of things clattering, followed by the cries of pain from those in a fight.Tristan frowned. "Who is it? Do they have a death wish?"Mark was also in disbelief. Shortly afterward, they finally saw clearly who was approaching them.Jeremiah was s
Over at Snyder Residence, Yvette was woken up early by Kiki, who also informed her that there were negative rumors about Zoey circulating online."Yvvy, see, I told you that the media wouldn't easily let Zoey off the hook."Yvette read through them again.However, these news stories disappeared not long after they were published.While eating breakfast, Kiki frowned and said, "The speed at which trending articles change is just too fast.""That's the benefit of having money," Yvette said.Even the children knew about the trending articles being removed.Zachary had originally wanted to hack in further to make Zoey's news trend more frequently. Unfortunately, it seems they had figured out about the hacking attempts, so they fortified their firewall and posted someone to monitor the situation.If he hacked in again, there was a chance he might expose himself.Zachary decided to back off and settled for teaching Zoey a small lesson.…Yara was to be laid to rest today.Yvette
"We've found her, and we're currently figuring out how to obtain her biological sample," Elijah replied.Zoey was really anxious. She said, "Great. Once you've got it, come back as soon as you can.""Okay."Zoey hung up the phone and laid down to rest, but she just couldn't fall asleep.If Xandra really was Gemma's daughter, given Gemma's doting and overprotective nature, she would want to give half of everything she owned to Xandra.No, it wasn't just half. By then, Zoey might end up with nothing, and everything would go to Xandra.Zoey had a rough night and didn't sleep well, but fortunately, Elijah sent a message saying everything had been arranged. They were coming back today, so they could move forward with the examination earlier than planned.Just as things got settled over at Zoey's, online articles started trending elsewhere."Zoey Yandell is suspected to be the biological daughter of Yara Cadwell.""Zoey Yandell is unwilling to acknowledge her biological mother in or
"Fine, then. What a pity," Kiki said as she put down her phone.Yvette reassured her, saying, "There's nothing to feel bad about. What happened today was a warning to Zoey that I'm not someone to be messed with."Kiki nodded, saying, "Yes."They all understood that as long as Zoey was the Zelnik family's daughter, she would always have someone to protect her.Kiki said, "Gemma treats her adopted daughter so well. If she had her own kids, they'd definitely be happy too.""Yes, indeed."Yvette admired Zoey for having such a supportive mother who stood by her no matter what happened.Kiki asked, "Yvvy, have you ever thought about finding your biological mother?"She suddenly realized that many parents who abandoned their children might have done so because they had no other choice, or perhaps they did so for other reasons.Yvette shook her head. "I don't want to be disappointed again."Parents who could abandon their daughter at the orphanage probably didn't love her very much.
Kiki nodded and said, "Yes, it's them. They're incredibly arrogant. Just thinking about it still makes me really angry."Yvette picked up her phone and made a call. A bodyguard that was stationed nearby answered her.Kiki overheard her telling the person on the phone to isolate a few of them and beat them up."What do you mean?"Kiki still didn't understand what was happening.The driver started the car and drove them to a secluded location.Kiki then realized that all the people who had previously pushed her were now being cornered and beaten up."Yvvy, this is...""I can tolerate it if they bully me, but I can't stand it when they bully you," Yvette said, enunciating each word clearly.Kiki felt moved. She hugged Yvette tightly, saying, "Yvvy, you're amazing! My true love!"Yvette couldn't help but laugh. "Dummy. You're my best friend. You stood by me, so of course, I'll stand by you."She was no longer the person she once was, with nothing to her name. Yvette now had weal
Zoey never imagined that Yvette had secretly recorded their conversation back then.She immediately told the approaching reporters, "Stop taking pictures."However, even if the reporters didn't take photos, the guests who attended would take pictures and record videos."With this whole mix-up between the real and fake daughters, is Zoey actually from the Yandell family or the Snyder family?"Lawrence was upset and said, "My daughter, of course, took my last name.""Ah, so Yara was having an affair..."The people who came to attend the funeral on behalf of the Snyder family were instantly displeased."Are you kidding? Yara has been with you all along. Do you think us Snyders are a bunch of nobodies?"The members of the Snyder family and the people from the Cadwell family suddenly started arguing fiercely.Yvette looked at everything happening before her and just felt a deep sense of sadness.Kiki was supporting her upright, fearing she might get unintentionally caught up in th
The people present whispered to each other, confused about what Yvette was trying to do."Yvette, we were in the wrong before. Please don't take our words too seriously."The ones who previously criticized Yvette were now pretending to say nice things, fearing retaliation from her.Zoey and Lawrence stood among the crowd, unsure of what Yvette was going to do or say.Yvette ignored the person speaking and instead pulled out a report. "This is a paternity test. I am not Ms. Cadwell's biological daughter."She spoke about it boldly and bluntly.Everyone present was stunned to hear that, including Zoey and Terrence.Terrence never imagined that the sister he grew up with was not actually the daughter of the Cadwells."Yvette, don't joke around," Terrence said while forcing a laugh.Yvette looked at Terrence and said, "I'm not joking. To avoid anyone thinking I'm faking it, I've undergone tests at several major hospitals. I'm definitely not a daughter of the Cadwell family or the
The corners of Jeremiah's lips curled into a faint smile. "It seems like things aren't looking good for him."Tristan was immediately infuriated upon hearing those words. He grabbed Jeremiah by the collar and demanded, "What nonsense are you spouting?"Jeremiah looked calmly at him and said, "You're not very good at lying."Tristan was indeed that kind of person—he had no hidden agendas or schemes."You're Xav's own brother. Do you really hate him that much? Do you want him to die?"After hearing this, Jeremiah's expression remained unchanged. "You and Xavier are supposed to be best friends. Can you guarantee that you're not jealous of him and have never thought about making him disappear?""Of course not," Tristan affirmed confidently.When he was younger, he indeed felt jealous of Xavier and was unhappy about always being overshadowed by him. But as he grew older, he realized that everyone had their own strengths and that there was no need to compete with others over everythin
The members of the Cadwell family looked at each other in confusion, and then they began to apologize to Yvette and Kiki."Yvette, I'm sorry. Please forgive us. We're old and unwise.""Yes, yes, we're unwise. We're sorry.""Miss, please forgive us. We'll cover all your medical expenses."They all apologized at once, but only they knew how sincere the apologies actually were.Kiki tugged on Yvette's hand and asked, "Yvvy, what do you think we should do?"Yvette had already figured out how to deal with them. She said, "Since they already realized their mistake, let's just let it go.""Okay." Kiki, seeing that Yvette wasn't bothered by it anymore, agreed as well. "Just make sure you don't bully others by abusing your power in the future.""Right. Yes."Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they had narrowly escaped a crisis. They didn't realize that Yvette had already planned on how to deal with them.This was, after all, a funeral parlor, and some media reporters would s