Mrs. Simmons rushed to embrace Annie, asking, "What's wrong? Why are you so upset?" Upon seeing Annie's face, she gasped, "What happened? Who dared to hurt you like this?""Renee!" Annie replied bitterly, recounting the incident to her mother.As Yvette listened, her anger grew. She slammed her hand on the table. "This is outrageous! First, she humiliated us and forced us to apologize to that wretched Susanne. Now this nobody dares to play games with you? She clearly doesn't know her place!""Mom, both Michael and Ms. Xander saw it. What should I do?" Annie bit her lip.Yvette paced the room, her elegant posture belying her calculating expression. Suddenly, she stopped and smiled."Now that Renee has no cards left to play, it's the perfect time to strike.""But my phone was wiped clean too," Annie said resentfully."That doesn't matter. Don't forget, you're our trump card. How could she possibly compare to your influence?" Yvette lifted Annie's chin, her voice filled with pity.
Hospital.After finishing her IV, Renee’s fever had completely subsided. Though still physically weak, her spirits were high.“Are you sure you don’t want to stay in the hospital? You drank a lot, fell into the water, and then caught a fever. It’s perfectly normal to stay for observation for at least a day,” Dr. Percy said, filling out her medical record and trying to persuade her.Renee ignored him and lifted the blanket, preparing to get out of bed.Every time she saw Dr. Percy, her feelings were complicated. She had privately inquired, and the nurses all said he was a reputable and competent doctor, praised by patients as well. There was no way he would perform an illegal kidney transplant on a child.However, given his friendship with Carl, it wasn’t impossible that he might have bent the rules.Either way, the root of the issue was still Carl.Seeing that she was determined, Dr. Percy sighed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the sweater she was wearing and froze.T
“Uncle Carl, you’re really going all out to clear Annie’s name!”“But I refuse to go along with your plan! Even if I die, I’ll drag Annie down to hell with me!” Renee shot a fierce look at Annie and headed toward the door.Behind her, Carl’s cold voice echoed, “Renee, are you not worried about your mother anymore?”Renee’s steps came to an abrupt halt.Her lips lost all color, and for a moment, her mind went blank. She slowly turned around, staring at the man in front of her, her eyes so red it seemed like they might bleed.“Fine. Fine…”She bent down stiffly to pick up the papers from the floor, her fingers trembling as she typed out each humiliating word of the statement. Closing her eyes briefly, she pressed ‘Send’ with all her strength.Carl approached her, but she stepped back, letting out a bitter laugh.“Uncle Carl, is this enough? Is it?”As if afraid he hadn’t heard her, she repeated, “Is it enough now?”Her eyes were filled with a cold indifference that revealed the
Jackson found Carl in Dr. Percy’s office, quietly sipping tea.“Mr. Grey, Miss Lacey has been taken away by Mr. Travis.”Carl narrowed his eyes and pulled out his phone, dialing Renee’s number. It went straight to voicemail.As the mechanical tone repeated, the teacup in Carl’s hand cracked.A dark, dangerous glint flashed through his eyes, sending a chill down Jackson’s spine.Dr. Percy glanced at him. “Worried now? Then why did you push her so hard earlier?”Carl tossed the broken cup into the trash, not bothering to explain.Dr. Percy pointed to the neatly folded sweater on the table. “You even let her wear that sweater, and that’s your—”“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Carl cut him off, picking up the sweater and turning to leave.By the time Carl returned to the Grey estate, it was late. He stood in the courtyard and lit a cigarette.Jackson glanced at the sky. “Mr. Grey, it’s going to rain soon. You should go inside.”Carl looked up at the dark clouds covering
Susanne seemed to get more excited as she talked, planning things in her head. Renee grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Mom, do I really have to get married? I don't want anyone! If you keep pushing me, I'll just find some random guy and marry him!""Look at you! I'm just thinking about what's best for you. Finding a good man and living a good life—what's wrong with that?""Can’t I live a good life on my own? Why do I have to rely on a man?” Renee countered.“I... I can’t argue with you. Just go to bed,” Susanne finally conceded, waving her off.Renee returned to her room and lay on her bed, letting out a sigh of relief. After a moment, she remembered her phone, which had been off all this time.She took it out of her bag and, bracing herself, turned it on. She expected a barrage of notifications, but the phone remained unusually quiet. She checked her messages and saw that the hateful ones had been retracted, with some even apologizing.In just a few hours, Annie, who should’
Travis had silently done so much for Renee that she didn’t want to make things awkward over a single photo. But she needed to make her stance clear.He was her brother, and that was it.After a moment, Travis sent a smiley emoji.“Get some rest.”“Okay.”Exiting the chat, Renee glanced at her missed calls. Her fingers paused when she saw Carl’s number, but she set the phone down, deciding to take a shower and get some sleep.Early the next morning, Renee got up and headed to the kitchen. She was already thinking of an excuse to ask the staff to let her use the kitchen for a bit. In the past, even just going to grab a bite to eat had earned her a lot of cold looks and sneers.To her surprise, when she walked in, the kitchen was full of new faces. The moment they saw her, they immediately stopped what they were doing and greeted her respectfully.“Good morning, Miss Lacey. Are you hungry? We can hurry and finish; it won’t take long.”The speaker was a woman in her fifties, with
"Travis, what brings you here?" Renee asked, wiping her hands as she greeted him."I heard you were hurt and thought I'd give you a ride to the office this morning. No need to squeeze onto the subway," Travis replied. Noticing her apron, he hesitated. "What are you up to?"Renee, a bit embarrassed, held up her flour-covered hands. "I wanted to make some muffins for you and Mrs. Grey, but you caught me in the act.""Should I leave then?" Travis teased.Renee laughed along with him. "No, you can sit and relax for a bit. I'll be done soon."Travis nodded in agreement.Renee quickly finished preparing breakfast.Noticing Travis glancing at his watch, she packed everything into some new containers she'd recently bought. Turning to the housekeeper, she instructed, "This batch is softer and easier to digest. Please make sure Linda has it while it's still warm.""Of course, Miss Lacey."Then she handed Travis a blue checkered lunch bag with a cute pattern. "I hope you don't mind; the
Travis's secretary felt her legs give out as if someone had kicked her behind the knees. Losing her balance, she spilled the entire cup of tea onto Travis and the lunch box.Travis frowned slightly.The secretary quickly apologized, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!”At that moment, Carl stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. “I’m here to ask you to take a business trip to Seaside City. The documents are on your desk. Make sure to review them.”Travis glanced at the file Carl had placed on his desk and nodded. “Got it.”Carl turned and left without another word.Inside the office, Travis took the handkerchief from the secretary, his expression remaining gentle.“Go ahead and prepare for the trip.”“Yes, sir.” The secretary bowed slightly before exiting the office.Travis’s eyes lingered on the stained lunch box on his desk, his gaze growing darker.In the elevator, Jackson fiddled with a small stone in his hand. “Mr. Grey, you asked me to come along just for this…”“Hmm?”