"It's all here," SJ replied as he slid the file on all the information he had gathered to Tina.Tina took it and paid the remaining balance. "I'll reach out again when I need your help."Having received his payment, SJ nodded and left.Tina quickly opened the envelope, reading through everything carefully for anything she could use—but there was nothing worthwhile even after she flipped through everything.SJ was a very famous PI in Jadelight, but even he could not find any leverage against Linda.That meant anyone else would fail just the same.Tina was left staring fixedly on the last page, overwhelmed by the helplessness she felt inside.The only one who knew that Linda had poached the kidney meant for Sophie was Quentin, and he was dead.Naturally, Tina had sought out Quentin's wife, but the woman knew nothing.She told Tina that Quentin had arranged everything, stopping her from donating her kidney to Sophie.As for who it was or even whether Quentin was paid for it, Que
Heartbroken, Linda was forced to head abroad.At that time, Stan and his friends saw how depressed Henry was.That was why it was not just Henry who despised Tina—being his close friends, Stan and the rest of Henry's buddies all despised Tina as well.Even if Tina had a child with Henry, none of them cared.However, even as Stan ranted on indignantly for Henry's benefit, he suddenly realized that instead of calming down, Henry looked ready to snap.If anything, it looked like…"Wait, have you fallen for Tina?!" Stan asked with a dumbfounded look.Even he doubted that was the case as he asked that question.Henry had spent years looking for Linda, and when he finally did, he immediately spoiled her rotten, obsessing over her in mind and spirit.Why would he ever fall for a scheming bitch like Tina?Indeed, Henry's expression changed as he gave Stan an incredulous look.There was no way he would fall for Tina!"Exactly!" Stan laughed. "Why would you ever fall for Tina?!"He
After being together for four years, Olivia and Stan naturally had their disagreements.However, no matter how much Stan hurt Olivia, she could never bring herself to break up with him.And on every occasion, he just had to sweet talk her a little, and she was suddenly clinging to him again.Her friends always called her a loser for that, but she just could not help it—she loved him, even if she bent herself backward doing so.It was to the point that Stan could now frolic with other women right in front of her to hurt her and humiliate her, because he was dead sure that she would never leave him.As Tina started to leave the clubhouse, she had to walk past clubroom 888 on her way out.She hence saw Olivia, and that Stan was frolicking with Amber inside the clubroom.She knew that Stan was Henry's close friend, and that Olivia was Stan's girlfriend.But she only knew them—over the last five years, Henry had never brought her along to meet them.Tina did not want to care, but s
Henry's mention of Sophie left Tina laughing coldly.Such was the difference between love and callousness.Henry loved Linda and was meticulously doting on anything that concerned her.Tina certainly remembered the time when Rory was brought back to the country, and Linda had lost her in the mall.Within minutes, Henry sent every connection he had into that mall to search for Rory, rocking the city.At that moment, everyone knew Henry was no longer single, even having a daughter.And with that, Rory was acknowledged as Henry's daughter, even though Sophie had never been since her birth.What about Sophie? Had he ever cared for her?He had every right to blame and doubt Tina for what happened, thinking her a pathological liar for drugging him.That was why he doubted her claim that Sophie was dead, stubbornly insisting that Tina had hidden her somewhere.In fact, he could think whatever he liked—Tina no longer cared about what he thought of her!But when it came to Sophie…I
Henry knew that Tina loved Sophie dearly, and controlling Sophie meant that he could control Tina.It was certainly a well-thought out plan, even meticulously calculated, and not once was Sophie's feelings on the matter considered.Looking Henry straight in the eye right then, Tina growled through her teeth slowly and clearly, "You listen well. I'm not yours, and Sophie is not your leverage!"Even so, she could barely stop her pain, and she could not stop the tears welling up in her eyes as she continued, "What did Sophie do to deserve a father like you?" Sophie was five, but this was the first time Henry had ever said that he missed her—and not because he had not seen her for a while, but so that he could use her like a tool!Nonetheless, Henry snorted, his intimidating presence unfurling. "What, finally realizing that I'm terrible, so you want to get Sophie a new daddy? Have you asked her? Did she say yes?"He stared Tina in the eye, wondering if she really liked John and want
Both Linda and Irene smiled as they brought Stan his presents. Stan was at once on his feet, showing utter respect to Linda. "Thank you, ladies."Linda looked around, as she had expected Henry but did not see him there.And after what had happened with Martin, Irene was even more keen to suck up to Linda, asking Stan without needing Linda to tell her, "Where's Henry?"However, Stan remembered that Henry had left chasing after Tina.He had no idea what madness had overcome Henry—the man used to hate the very mention of Tina, but today, the same thing only got a strange reaction out of him.That was not all either—he even dragged Tina into another clubroom, and there was hardly any disgust or spite that was spoken about in rumors.If anything, he looked like he cared too much…Still, glancing at Linda, Stan decided to cover for Henry."He left to take a phone call," he said and cheerfully changed the subject. "Come, come! Have a drink with this birthday boy!""Okay." Linda did
Irene struggled to get to her feet, but even before she could stand, Tina picked up a bottle of red wine from the table and poured it over her head."Argh!"Irene dropped to the floor again, clutching her head on reflex and hiding her face as she screamed.On the other hand, everyone else in the clubroom could not react in time as Tina had moved so quickly, even pouring the entire bottle over Irene."Touch me. Just try it," she growled. "And don't worry, I'll pay for the red wine."None of the people in this room were anything good.Nonetheless, Stan glowered at Tina for causing such a mess. "That's why Henry doesn't love you.""And you think I care?" Tina scoffed."What are you doing?!" Henry appeared and snapped right then.He was going to smoke in the opposite room to quell the irritation he felt from Tina's cold attitude.He had wanted to use Sophie to keep Tina in line and stop her from hooking up with John, but it was also true that he wanted to see Sophie too.He had
Linda deliberately mentioned what happened five years ago because in Henry's mind, Tina had drugged him precisely to steal him from Linda.That was not all either—Tina had forced Linda to go abroad, subjecting her and Rory to every kind of torment abroad.And it was the chip on Henry's shoulder that he could never shrug off, and the reason why he absolutely loathed Tina.That was why Linda mentioned that—to make Henry remember, and to make him furious.And once Henry was furious, he would not be bothered by Irene working with Martin to drug Tina, and Tina would have to take this loss in silence.How frustrating that would be for Tina, and how delightful it would be for her!And though Linda despised Irene, she always took Irene's side for appearance's sake.It was necessary, as on one hand, she refused to let Tina win in any way.On the other hand, Irene was dumb as a pig, but Linda could wield her like a knife.Even though she had failed to destroy Tina though that blind date
Jimmy had already been transferred to a ward when Tina arrived at the hospital he was in.She ran into his teammate on the way there, who was going out for a smoke in the fire escape stairs, and paused when he saw Tina.Tina was gasping as she ran all the way there and asked him gingerly, "Is Jimmy alright?"Why a traffic accident, and at this time?She did not dare to think how devastated Jimmy would be after he had worked so hard for years but still could not accomplish his dream."He's safe, but one of his wrists is thoroughly hurt," the teammate said somberly. "And the doctor is saying that it's disabled."He was like a brother to Jimmy and knew better than anyone how hard Jimmy had worked to get gold.But now, Jimmy could not even compete with his wrist disabled.Tina staggered backward at the news, the rim of her eyes reddened as tears soon covered her face.It took her a long while to stop crying and wipe the tears off her face, compose herself, and head inside.The do
But as Rory really grew on Henry, he could see that she really thought of him as her father, and he treated her as his daughter in turn.Nonetheless, Jimmy snorted. "What does Rory Cook have to do with me? Who do you think she is? Why should I sacrifice my dreams to save her? You want me to donate my kidney to her? Not in this lifetime!" And with that, he took Tina's hand and turned to leave.As Linda saw that Henry was not stopping them, she promptly tugged on him. "Are you just going to let him go?! What about Rory?!""No." He shook his head. "Jimmy is competing by the end of the month. Stop obsessing over him—I'll get Rory another donor."Jimmy's words just reminded Henry about the tournament, and that Jimmy was not representing himself but the whole nation.Rory's life mattered, but saving her should not come at such a cost.Linda's lips twitched, as she really wanted to argue.So what if Jimmy had to give up on the tournament?It was not like he was going to win gold—eve
Thud!Thud!Linda only bowed just three times, but she was at once dizzy and bleeding from her forehead."Linda!" Henry cried as he rushed to her side.Just as he dropped to a couch, she promptly dropped limply into his arms, blood flowing freely down her head as she rasped, "Henry… Calm down, I'm alright."Her face was covered in blood and tears—it was a gruesome sight."For Rory's sake, I won't just bow—I'm willing to die for her if I have to." Even so, she tugged feebly on Henry's arm, while continuing to prove how deeply she loved Rory as she turned to Tina. "Can you let Jimmy save Rory now? I've already bowed as you demanded…"Henry's face dropped at those words.Glowering, he gently reached down to pick up Linda from the floor, but she refused and stayed on her knees, tears covering her face as she cried, "Haven't I bowed enough? I can keep going, as long as you promise to save Rory!"Linda was ready to keep bowing as she finished, but Henry caught her, stopping her fr
Linda did not think that Tina could completely ignore the mob's outrage, even turning the tables on her!If Linda refused to bow, that meant she did not love her daughter.Even if that was a fact, she could not let it show in front of the public!Her jaw clenching so hard she could crush her own teeth, Linda had no choice but to slide off her wheelchair with considerable difficulty, breathing, "I'm begging you, Tina."The same thing had happened two years ago, but the roles were reversed—Linda had been on her feet, while Tina had been prostrating herself and begging.Tina would never forget the day Linda threatened her with Sophie's ashes, and how it ripped her heart apart because she really thought it was Sophie.She had not hesitated to kowtow until her head bled as Linda demanded, but Linda scattered Sophie's ashes anyway.Her heart was left in pieces then.Even if she later found out that the ashes were not Sophie, her heartache and the way Linda humiliated her was never fo
Tina and Jimmy were just leaving the hospital when a figure steered her wheelchair toward them, grabbing Tina's hand as everyone watched, crying and begging, "Please, Tina, I'm begging you—you have to help Rory!"She's dying, and she'll be dead without your friend's kidney!"She's only seven! She's just a child—please, take pity on her! Don't be so cold-blooded and stop your friend from donating his kidney! A feud between adults shouldn't hurt the kids! Rory is innocent!"Linda was smart—she actually mentioned that they had a feud.And for most people, whenever they thought of a feud between two women, they would immediately presume it was a love triangle—that the women were after the same man.That was why Linda would take the moral high ground and coerce Tina into relenting through emotional blackmail.Still, Jimmy himself pried Linda's fingers off even before Tina spoke. "Don't touch Tina with your filthy hands, and quit your slander! I'm the one who's refusing to donate my ow
"I didn't want to worry you, but I really wanted you to visit."Mommy told me not to catch a cold, but I sneaked out because you never came."I'm sorry, Daddy. I know you're busy and can't visit all the time, but I just…"Rory trailed off, barely catching her breath.Just watching that left Henry's heart bleeding and unable to scold her at all. "It's my fault I shouldn't have left the hospital—I'll try to stay with you as much as I can from now on, okay?"Rory shook her head. "It's alright, Daddy. I know you're busy—but just visit when you have time, okay?"In contrast to her capricious nature when she was five and always bugging Henry to keep her company, Rory appeared even more mature now.Henry smiled and nodded. "Okay. Just be good, Rory—close your eyes and sleep. Leave the rest to Daddy, okay?"Rory nodded, leveling a worshipful gaze at Henry with her clear, innocent gaze, having complete faith in him as he said, "I believe you, Daddy. You're my hero—you'll save me, right?
Henry sped all the way to the hospital and arrived outside the emergency room to find Linda covered in tears in her wheelchair.Her tears gushed even more when she saw him and called out to him helplessly, "Henry…"Henry went up to her, his expression worried. "She was fine this afternoon, wasn't she? Why is she suddenly in critical condition?""I-I don't know… She was just fine before she slept… then, she suddenly had a fever and a low heart rate… I quickly called the doctor, and he said she's in critical condition and asked me to sign the notice…"I didn't… I… I'm afraid Rory will die… I….""Rory's going to be fine."Seeing that Linda was spouting nonsense, Henry patted her back to calm her down, but his eyes were worried even as he stared at the doors of the emergency room.He was really worried that Rory would die too.He did not want to lose Rory too after losing Sophie.And Linda seized the moment to sneak into his arms…-There was no telling how long had passed when
After all, Linda was really worried that Rory might die."I told Jimmy Jones," Henry admitted."Why?!" Linda cried out in disbelief. "We agreed not to tell Tina, didn't we?! Why did you tell her?! What is Rory going to do, now that Jimmy is refusing to donate to her?! Do we just watch her die?!""I won't let anything happen to Rory," Henry replied quietly. "Don't worry—I've sent my people on a nationwide search for a suitable donor. Rory is going to be fine."However, Henry's promise did not calm Linda down at all.But no matter how upset she was with his decision, she did not dare to let it show and fought back the frustration burning within her."I trust you, Henry," she sobbed, sounding helpless as if she was completely reliant on him.Henry then offered a few more words of comfort and told Linda not to tell Rory—she was seven and knew enough about death now, and he was worried that it would worsen her condition."Don't worry. I'll keep it a secret," Linda replied.Once Hen
Personally, Henry hoped that Tina would not extend their feud as adults to Rory.But if Tina decided to go through with it and stop Jimmy from donating, Henry decided that he would not push her either.There was still time, and Henry would be doing everything he could to get a suitable donor.To no surprise, his words left both Tina and Jimmy's faces dropping, with Jimmy throwing the pen as far as he could in disgust.He had almost donated his kidney to the daughter of the woman who murdered Sophie!Hell, he could consider donating to Rory if Rory was innocent and Linda was the only rotten one there.But Rory had already learned to frame Sophie even when Rory herself was just a child, hurting Sophie repeatedly.That apple was really rotten to the core, and Jimmy was no saint who would save someone so undeserving at the price of his own health."Donating to Rory Cook?! Not in your lifetime!" Jimmy bellowed as he picked up the papers and tore it into shreds.Then, he took Tina's