Holden was fuming too, so enraged that he could practically feel his teeth grinding."That Walter is out of line, rushing into a divorce like that! Does he think the Foster family would stoop to clinging onto him?"Yale, however, did not see it the same way as his brothers.At first, he just had his suspicions, but after hearing what James had to say, he was sure about Walter's motives."Maybe... Walter has his tough spots."He did not want to tell Walter's situation to his brothers, but his conscience would not let him stand by and watch them hate Walter so much. After all, Walter was probably just trying to shield Evangeline.It was a sad truth that those two kids were star-crossed, with fate always cruelly tearing them apart.Holden could not stand to hear it. "Yale, what are you even saying? You're always the one who's got Evie's back, and now, when she's getting pushed around, you're defending Walter, that jerk?"We all heard what James said. Walter doesn't want Evie holdi
"You're talking about Gordon Group, right?"Cuddly Cutie, since when did you start second-guessing herself? He's just a guy. Out with the old, in with the new, right? What's there to hang onto? You're divorced, so why keep him on your mind?"Snow Wolf's words were laid-back but hit Evangeline right in the feels.She understood, however, that Snow Wolf was not trying to sting her. He was just trying to nudge her to move on, to let her know that Walter was in the rearview mirror and she should not waste her feelings on him anymore."It's not like that," she protested."Oh? Then what's it like?" Snow Wolf did not miss a beat, pushing for an answer.In his eyes, Evangeline was not just the person who signed his paychecks; she was a friend. No way would he have ever dared to ask such a bold question otherwise."It's kind of a long story, and I can't really put it into words."Evangeline tried to brush off the question, but then it hit her—there was something she had not considered.
"If you do this for me, it's a big help," said Evangeline firmly. After she hung up, her mind was a whirlwind that just would not settle down.Trouble was brewing at Gordon Group.Yale, privy to the inside scoop, found himself reevaluating Walter in a new light.What could link those two seemingly unrelated events?The answer lay with the intel from Snow Wolf.However, the one who had set off Evangeline's emotional storm was carrying a weight like never before.Trey's challenge was one that always had to be faced.Walter pulled up to the Gordon family's old house, only to find Alex, pushing a wheelchair, steadfast by Trey's side."Alex, it's been ages." He offered a customary greeting to Alex before drawing closer to Trey. "Grandpa, why did you call me back?"Securing a divorce from Evangeline left Walter with mixed feelings of relief and sorrow.Relieved that his showdown with the Bennison family would not drag the Fosters into the fray.However, weighed down by the reality
Trey huffed scornfully. "Bringing this up now is pointless."If Evie could go through with divorcing you, she's definitely over you. That girl's got a stubborn streak, and she wouldn't have walked away unless she was really hurt."Being divorced is for the best. It saves you from messing up someone else's daughter and spares me the embarrassment of facing my old friends in the afterlife!"The more Trey ranted, the angrier he got. When he finally looked up, he saw Walter staring with wide eyes, completely stunned. Trey had been rambling on, but Walter had not reacted at all, which infuriated Trey even more."What's with the bug eyes? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"What Trey did not realize was that his loud tirade could not even snag Walter's attention, who suddenly burst into laughter."Yeah, why would she divorce if she hadn't given up?"His laughter faded as he snapped back to reality and faced Trey. "Grandpa, you and the Foster uncles couldn't be more right—I'm a
Walter could only keep his heartbreak locked away inside, never to be shared with anyone. After all, Evangeline had already said those words.She did not care about the misunderstandings, did not care about the past. She had told him she wanted to be with him, but he was the one who stubbornly pushed her away. What chance did he have for regret at this point?He was the one who had pushed Evangeline away, and at this moment, he was the one filled with regret and pain.However, if enduring that pain meant protecting Evangeline, then it was all worth it.All of a sudden…Knock, knock, knock!Walter snapped back to reality, realizing someone was at his door."Who's there?" He quickly dried his tears, trying to sound normal, but his voice was raspy, giving away his feelings.Through the heavy door, he heard Alex's easygoing voice. "Walter, can you open the door? It's me, your brother Alex."The name Alex was nothing but a bad joke in Walter's world. It was pure, unadulterated ir
Alex barely gave Walter's words a second thought, his laughter growing even more triumphant.As if a thought had just struck him, he said, "Oh, Walter, I nearly forgot to pass on a message from Grandpa."The chairman of Gordon Group has called a shareholders' meeting, and you, as the CEO, have to be there. Don't forget to show up."Trey had not bothered with the company for years, so a sudden meeting like that had to mean something big.A sense of dread weighed heavily on Walter's heart.From Alex's cocky demeanor, it was obvious that whatever was happening was going to work out in his favor.Whatever that advantage might be…Walter's eyes snapped open, and everything was pitch black.Could it be that his relentless convincing had finally paid off, and Grandpa... actually agreed to let Alex run the company?Why at this moment?After all his failed attempts to persuade, just when he was ready to completely shut down any chance of Alex returning to the company, why did Grandpa
However, the shareholder stood his ground, even more emboldened. "Making money for us shareholders is your job as CEO. What else is there to say?"Walter scoffed, about to retort, when Trey cut in."Let's settle down. We've all been in this company for ages. It's not too kind to corner my grandson like this, right?"This decision, though made by Walter alone, affects us all. We rise and fall as one. I'm sure you all grasp the meaning of that."Trey's statement was profound and resonant.The financial hit from Walter's blunder in Southern Crownlands was spread out among all the shareholders. Naturally, the Gordons, who messed up, were on the hook for most of it. However, the shareholders barely made a peep.Gordon Group had been a gold mine for years, and they were loaded. Missing a few bucks from the shareholders was no sweat off their backs.Besides, it was the investors who were really leaning on Gordon Group to turn their investments into big bucks. No way were they going to
The shareholders made their choice swiftly, barely pausing to think.It made sense, though. Under Alex's leadership, the company had never stumbled, and they had all reaped the rewards.Just then, Trey's secretary's voice cut through the silence, firm and official, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the new CEO of Gordon Group, Mr. Alex Gordon. Let's welcome him with a round of applause and hear what he has to say!"Alex was decked out in his sharpest suit, looking every bit the part of a guy who knew victory was in the bag.However, the wheelchair was a pain, not getting around that. Without bothering to stand, Alex grabbed the mic from his secretary and excitedly said, "Big thanks to all you shareholders for believing in me. From here on out, I'm all in. We're going to rake in the cash and rocket Gordon Group to new heights! You guys are the best."Alex kept it short and sweet, but his few words were packed with big dreams.Inside, however, he was buzzing with even more en
Evangeline felt a stir in her heart as Alex's persuasive voice washed over her. She knew he was twisting the truth, but she could not quite pin down a comeback to shut him down.Hurting someone in the name of love could not possibly be true love, could it?She saw right through Alex's charming tricks—classic manipulator moves. If she let herself get sucked into his logic, she would be brainwashed in no time, turned into his personal puppet. 'Alex, you're seriously scary,' she thought to herself.If she fought back too hard, he would only come at her with worse, and she was not exactly in a position to fight back. She was about as intimidating as a kitten.No, she had to be clever about that."I believe you," she said, her voice light and airy as if she did not have a care in the world. Even tied up as she was, her smile and bright eyes made her look utterly adorable."You know, Alex, you're making a lot of sense. I mean, what have I gotten from chasing after Walter all this tim
Foster Group had revamped its game, and it was a whole new ballgame. However, just because they had ditched their old ways, did that mean nobody was left to pick up the slack?Alex was clued in on all of that, yet fear was not in his vocabulary."You really think I'm scared to mess with you because of that?" Alex's voice dripped with icy mockery. "Evangeline, the only reason I haven't pushed you is because I love you too much to make you do anything... intimate."However, if my caring turns into your scorn, then sorry, I can't just stand by and do nothing.""Too much love to force me?" Evangeline laughed like she had heard the funniest joke ever. "Does your face turn red when you say that? Does lying make you squirm?"You say you can't force me, but did I come to this creepy place because I wanted to? Did I ask you to tie me up like this?"Alex's face hardened, and his words were laced with pure fury."Evie, if you keep bad-mouthing me, keep getting me wrong, I'm going to lose
"Spill it, why did you bring me here, and why am I all tied up?"Evangeline had already taken in every detail of the room, feeling a wave of strangeness wash over her.She knew for a fact she had never set foot in that place before.Then again, this was Alex's secret lair. How could she have ever been there?Alex did not answer right away. Instead, he caressed her cheek with one hand, boasting arrogantly, "When I bring my girl to my place, there's no need for a reason."Evangeline tried to shrink away from his touch, but the ropes made it impossible to move.She resigned herself and thrust her bound hands toward Alex. "Alex, is this your idea of treating a woman right?"Drugging me, tying me up while I'm knocked out? Don't you think these tactics are a little low, even for you?"Before this, Evangeline had never thought Alex could be so vile.However, there he was, his hand casually resting on the ropes that tied her up, while his other hand reached out to grab hers. He looked
The room was so soundproof that Evangeline did not catch a word of the conversation. If she had, she would have laughed and said that the biggest danger she faced was Alex himself.Too bad Evangeline was out of earshot, and Yale was clueless that Alex was just faking concern. Considering how close Alex seemed to be with Evangeline and how worried he acted, Yale pushed aside his suspicions.Alex played the caring friend perfectly, offering Yale a few comforting words. However, Yale was too focused on the search for Evangeline to chat, so he hung up quickly.As soon as the call ended, the worried look on Alex's face melted away, replaced by a smug grin.'Yale, I wonder how you'll look next time we meet, when I'm introduced as Evangeline's boyfriend? Will you be relieved, or will you be steaming mad? Either way, I bet it'll be a picture worth seeing.'Of course, Yale's reaction did not matter. Alex had one thing on his mind today: to win Evangeline over.In a perfect world, he would
Walter did not buy the story for a second, his eyes locked on Thomas."That toy you're holding is the Shadow Wing, isn't it? A casual one million five hundred thousand dollar purchase—come on, you're no average person."Even though Thomas was riddled with doubts, he knew that was not the time to get caught up in them."Thomas, once we wrap this up and Evangeline's back safe, let's really get to know each other, okay?"Thomas just gave a nonchalant shrug. "Sure thing, I'm ready whenever you are."Just then, Thomas's eyes sparkled as he zeroed in on the screen."Got her! She's right here!"Walter glanced over at Thomas, and there was Evangeline's face on the screen, pale with fury.In a room on the third floor of the mansion, at the turn of the corridor, Evangeline was lying on the bed, a flimsy blanket her only cover. Tightly bound beneath the thin fabric were her wrists and ankles.As the memories from before she blacked out rushed back, Alex's triumphant smirk haunted Evangel
The gas pedal hit the floor, and the car surged forward faster than ever.Walter's mind was racing, fixated on the upcoming rescue.However, the place they pulled up to was all too familiar.It was the very villa where Walter's secret rendezvous had once been exposed.Stepping out of the car, Thomas could not suppress a chuckle at the sight of the private estate."It's kind of funny, you know? I thought bumping into an old friend while out and about was surprising enough, but to end up in the very same place, too?"Walter was not shocked, however.He had suspicions about Alex and had done his homework. This villa? It was Alex's hideout.What he did not expect was Alex could be so bold as to drag Evangeline there.Walter had been to that villa once. It was huge, with rooms galore, and pinning down which one Evangeline might be in was like looking for a needle in a haystack. If they were going to find her, they would have to check each room, which was a real pain.Walter caught
"How do I save Evangeline? And who the heck are you?"That enigmatic tipster, who kept dropping hints about Evangeline's peril, was no ordinary person.However, instead of an answer, all Walter got was the infuriating buzz of a busy signal.[Meet at the Dell family's alley crossroads in ten minutes.]Walter stared at the text, his curiosity about this cryptic informant spiking. It was like they knew exactly where he was, setting up the rendezvous right around the corner from the hospital.[Why should I trust you? And who are you, really?]Uncertainty swirled around Walter like a thick fog, but he was not about to let go of that mysterious lifeline that might just pull Evangeline back to safety.He shot back a quick reply and turned to David. "How many can we muster from the Gordons' forces?"Walter never imagined his grandfather would kick him out of Gordon Group. He had always focused on keeping the business running smoothly, never bothering to build up his own crew.However,
The thought struck David like lightning."All the Bennison family's clout is in Alex's grip. Could Alex be plotting against Ms. Evangeline? But wait, doesn't Alex have a thing for her? They could meet up in the open, no problem. So why would the Fosters kick up such a storm?"Nonetheless, who else in all of Avalon City would dare to mess with the Fosters' darling Evangeline in the open?As Walter was racking his brains, David suddenly gasped, a eureka moment lighting up his face."I got it! Alex has booted you from the company and got the thumbs up from Mr. Gordon. Gordon Group's practically his. He's on top of the world. If he now goes after Ms. Evangeline..."David clamped his mouth shut mid-sentence, realizing the rest was too risky to voice in front of Walter.However, he trusted Walter's smarts. Even without spelling it out, Walter would get the picture.He did. The moment Walter caught on to the unspoken words, panic washed over him, and he started sweating bullets.Alex
Yale's search revealed that the bodyguards assigned to Evangeline had been secretly taken out.The enemy's bad intentions were obvious.However, they were clueless and had no idea who the bad guy was.Evangeline had vanished without leaving a single clue, leaving Yale with nowhere to start."What do we do now?" Roslyn was pacing back and forth, frantic.Celina, biting down on her teeth with regret, said, "If only I'd stayed with Ms. Evangeline when she went out, or stopped her from leaving!"However, wishing for do-overs was like hoping for a magic cure for regret. It simply did not exist. No matter how much they were hurting, they could not rewrite the ending.The real problem was, they were clueless about who they were up against. The people the Foster family had sent out were just running in circles at the last place Evangeline had been spotted, like they were chasing their own tails.Then, Roslyn had a lightbulb moment."Evie got a call before she left. Can we dig into her