Ginny covered Victoria as though she were protecting a defenseless person.As she observed the scene, Colette felt as if Victoria had snatched away the last possession that rightfully belonged to her."I won't allow you to harm Victoria any longer!" Ginny said as she spread her arms, taking a protective stance in front of Victoria.Colette, now a pissed-off wild beast, glared with fiery eyes and burst into mocking laughter."Victoria, did you catch that? She's all, 'I'll keep you safe.' Pretty darn amusing, huh?" taunted Colette.Victoria pursed her lips, keeping a poker face. "Sort of," she deadpanned.Elizabeth turned her gaze to Victoria, who remained indifferent. She then sighed.Colette stopped laughing, a smirk playing on her lips. "Who's messing with Victoria? Ginny, do you really think you've got the right to spew this crap? "Remember when Victoria, who was still seven, came back to Jameson Manor on my birthday? How did you treat her? "You called her names, slapped h
After hastily tending to the wounds on her face, Colette was escorted to the police station with her mouth gagged.While inside the police station, Yvette continued to undergo questioning. After spending several hours there, her cooperative attitude had turned impatient and frustrated."I've repeated this several times. I was unaware of any travel restrictions imposed on Colette or that she killed her father," said Yvette."She expressed a desire to leave Youngville but was paranoid about her driver. So, she came begging for my help, throwing in a sweet deal on the Harper family's shares as a bonus. "I mean, come on, I'm a businesswoman. Why wouldn't I jump in? Especially now that I'm involved with Zachary, I … "I feel a constant sense of guilt when it comes to her. I'm not breaking any laws. I've been deceived," defended Yvette. She continued, "I have a reputation in Youngville, and dragging me to the police station from a highway rest stop damages it severely. "Keep me h
Logan had just arrived when Nicole swiftly followed in his footsteps. Both of them appeared slightly disheveled.Logan's jacket was wet as if someone had sprayed it with water.However, Nicole had it worse. Her hair was smeared with a sticky, yellow substance that resembled egg yolks.Nicole rushed to Yvette's side, anxiously helping her up. "Yvette, what happened? Why do you look like this? Who messed up your face?"As Yvette and Colette were caught at the same time, this hinted at some shady dealings between them. Both Logan and Nicole were eyeing Colette's most valuable possession, the three percent of the Harper family's shares.Yvette looked at Nicole. She repeated what she had previously told Logan, "I made a deal with Colette. She signed the agreement and already took the money. "But now the police won't release it, the agreement is in their hands," she said.Colette turned over. "That doesn't count. You didn't send me abroad as promised. You've even landed me here at
Louis' statement put everyone in the room on edge.When Yvette sensed trouble, she raised her voice, "Colette personally signed the transfer agreement, and I've fulfilled the financial obligations. We even had a lawyer present during the transaction. "Mr. Langley, you're a businessman yourself. If an agreement signed under these circumstances isn't valid, then what kind of agreement would be deemed valid?" she asked.Louis subtly signaled to Franklin behind him.Franklin understood his signals and took out a document from his briefcase, handing it to Yvette.Franklin explained, "This is Mrs. Warde Senior's shares transfer agreement for Ginny. "On the fifth page, clause 47 introduces an additional provision stipulating that the transferee is prohibited from freely transferring the shares for three years. "Otherwise, the transferor retains the right to reclaim them."Yvette quickly located the additional provision as mentioned by Franklin.Louis continued, "Mrs. Warde Senior
Louis picked up the agreement that Logan had thrown on the ground. Borrowing a lighter from Franklin, he set it on fire in front of Colette and Yvette.Yvette watched Logan and Nicole leave without turning around. The agreement continued to burn, and all her hopes crumbled."Colette, it's all your fault—you jinx. I'm ruined because of you!" she shouted.Charging at Colette, the two quickly started fighting.Amused, Louis casually pulled out his phone, recording the fight."Since you like fighting so much, I'll make sure you two end up in the same cell. That way, you can fight every day, and prison life won't be boring."Louis chuckled and left the police station with Franklin.In the interrogation room, Yvette grabbed Colette's collar, throwing punches at her face.At the same time, Colette used her last bit of strength and yanked on Yvette's hair.It was a raw, instinctive struggle with neither willing to back down.Just as Louis exited the police station, he saw Logan and N
Yvette and Colette were dragged into the lock-up after they were done fighting.Both of them had not eaten or drank anything for the whole day. They were also injured. Both of them were exhausted to the point of being unable to move.They were cold and hurting while they lay on the floor. The door was opened just as they were about to fall asleep.Both of them thought someone had come to save them. They opened their eyes and looked hopeful.A few people walked in.They had ropes in their hands. Behind them were two big trash cans that could easily fit an adult inside.Yvette did not understand what was happening, but she felt extremely uneasy deep down.Colette was still dizzy. She felt that the scene before her was inexplicably familiar.She braced herself against the ground and leaned against the wall. She looked like she was facing a formidable enemy. "What … what are you guys going to do?"Those people walked over to stand before Yvette and Colette.They gagged both of th
As Victoria had wished for, she ended up weak in her knees. Benjamin had to carry her back to their room.The next day, Ethan called her when she was washing up in the bathroom.Benjamin picked up the call."Hello.""Where's Vicky?"It was already after 10:00 pm when he ended his call with Logan last night. Ethan was worried that he might disturb Victoria's rest if he called that late. Hence he waited until now.His mood turned sour when he heard Benjamin's voice.Benjamin was in a good mood as it was his and Victoria's first time in the study last night. As such, he did not immediately hang up on Ethan and have him blocked.He calmly replied, "She's washing up. You can just tell me whatever you want to tell her."Ethan blurted out, "Why is she only washing up now?"Benjamin's lips curled upward. He replied as if he was provoking Ethan and showing off at the same time. "She was too tired after last night. We slept in."Ethan's mood worsened. "Why are you so shameless, Benjam
The other staff of the Warde family saw what was happening. She quickly shut the door and blocked off the exit.Ginny looked at her and rolled her eyes. Suddenly, she became very angry."How dare you still show your face, Colette? Are you here to hurt my Victoria again? I won't be fooled by you again. Fuck off!"The "Colette" who was standing by the entrance was baffled. She explained, "No, Mrs. Jameson. I'm not …""You're still trying to quibble. I won't be deceived by you again! Are you trying to harm Victoria? I … I'll beat you to death!"Ginny shielded "Victoria" behind her and jumped onto "Colette"."Colette" struggled for help.Louis and "Victoria" went to help her out and pulled Ginny aside.Ginny sat on the bed with a sorrowful look. She started wailing."Are you blaming me, Victoria?"You're definitely blaming me. I made an unforgivable mistake. You shouldn't forgive me!"She hugged a pillow and cradled it as if it were a baby. "No, you should just forgive me. Can y
Victoria saw that Benjamin wasn't looking like he was kidding at all. She placed both of her hands on his chest and turned her head away when he leaned in to kiss her.She then pushed him away hard and changed the topic by saying, "I heard that Solomon was beaten up in his own house last night."Benjamin chuckled lowly and said, "There's no use changing the topic."As he was talking, he arched his neck and pressed his lips near Victoria's ear.Victoria's ears, especially her helix, were extremely sensitive. She subconsciously pulled her hands back and covered her ears with her palms.Benjamin took the chance to wrap his arms around Victoria's waist and pulled her close to him. His face was close to hers.Victoria could feel Benjamin's burning desire as she was pressed down onto his lap. She now knew better than to struggle.This was just shooting herself in the foot!It wasn't that she didn't know what he was like, but she just had to stir him up.Victoria felt uneasy when she
Victoria used her other hand to support her cheek as she blinked.She said, "How could someone who dislikes wasting words and unnecessary chatter nag endlessly over just a small wound?"Benjamin coldly asked, "Are you complaining that I'm long-winded and annoying now?"He looked aggrieved, as if he would be angry if Victoria were to answer "yes".Victoria laughed out loud again and replied, "I'm not!"She used her finger to poke at Benjamin's cheek.She was smiling when she asked, "Are you madly in love with me, Benjamin?"Benjamin looked at Victoria seriously as he crouched by her legs.If it was before this, he would've nodded and replied "of course" without hesitation. But now …Benjamin couldn't be as confident and sure when he recalled Wendy's previous words.Victoria didn't think much of it and took Benjamin's silence as affirmation.She continued, "I'm thinking that you're definitely madly in love with me. That is why you're so heartbroken and reacted abnormally even
"Where are we heading to now, Ben and Mrs. B? Why are the people here so weird? Why are they dressed up as if they're in a period drama?"What is this place? Why are the both of you here?"Yves was back to his lively self as soon as he got into the carriage. He started asking endless questions."You regained your memories now, Ben? I knew you'd never forget about Mrs. B no matter what. Even if you did, you'd definitely remember everything as soon as you saw Mrs. B!"Yves gushed on. It took him a good while to realize that Benjamin's expression had changed. Even the atmosphere in the carriage became strange.He asked, "Did I say something wrong?"Wendy laughed dryly and replied, "He's not as deeply in love with Victoria as you think he is. He didn't remember anything."Yves laughed awkwardly before pursing his lips.He started to butter Victoria up."How did you know Ben is here, Mrs. B? How did you find—"Victoria pursed her lips and glanced at Gwen who was driving in the fro
Yves stared at Anna. She started out mumbling, and her voice grew louder toward the end.He looked confused. "Ben, Mrs. B, what is she talking about?"He was sure she was speaking the same language but couldn't, for the life of him, understand what she meant.Upon listening to Anna, Wendy immediately felt she was too quick to agree to Yves' request because of the money. She wanted to push him aside.However, he was in a sorry state with his limp. His face was visibly thinner than before, and his eyes weren't as bright as they used to be. She found herself sympathizing with him.Victoria pressed her lips together, and her brows creased further.Benjamin turned to Silas. "Go and get Asher!"Anna didn't dial back on her arrogance. "Great idea. I'm looking for him, too."There was a horse race today, yet he locked me up in that cabin! I have a score to settle with him!"Victoria recalled Asher leaving the stables urgently during the day and had a hunch about what happened."If yo
Yves looked up with teary eyes and could vaguely make out Benjamin's sour face.He rubbed his eyes with all his might. Benjamin's face slowly became clear to him as his vision cleared."It's really you, Ben! Oh, Ben!"He was pleasantly surprised, as though he finally had someone to rely on. He teared up in excitement.The next moment, he became aggrieved again. He was just like a three-year-old who was bullied by a stray cat.He cried, "You're here, Ben. Why didn't you ask someone to look for me? You've no idea what I've experienced."I've been locked away in that shabby cabin and almost lost it. I miss you so freaking much!"Benjamin looked less sour now. He took out his handkerchief that he brought along wherever he went.He passed it to Yves, who had tears and snot all over his face. "Clean up. You're a grownup man, you know. Look at you."With one hand taking the handkerchief, Yves clung onto Victoria with the other.Benjamin stared at his hand that was holding onto her.
Asher felt his heart shatter. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I've already gifted it to someone else!"The person in charge felt his heart ache, too. "I wanted to inform you when you arrived, but you told me to talk to you after the race."You've always said that horse has a character and that you like it, no? I never expected you to give it away."Who did you give it to? Could you, perhaps, buy it back from him?"Asher was dispirited. "I can't."He waved it off and continued, "Forget about it. It belongs to someone else now."I'd been obliging to its every wish for all the time it had been here. Still, it never obeyed me."It's intelligent and chooses its own master. I can't tame it. It's no better than an average horse to me."Tell those who witnessed that incident that they shouldn't talk about it to anyone. You may leave."The person in charge glanced at him. Bowing, he acknowledged the instruction he received and left.Asher looked toward Sebastian and sighed dejectedly
Silas and Wendy immediately hurried over in excitement when they heard they were going to split the winnings.Wendy, who wasn't the best in maths, counted gleefully, "We bet one thousand gold coins. As the odds are at one to 246, we'll get … ten thousand, 200 thousand … 244600 gold coins. Am I right?"She surprised herself when she said that out loud. She and Silas exchanged glances and started hopping about in delight.That was a lot of gold coins! They were rich!"Ten percent of 244600 gold coins would amount to roughly 24 thousand gold coins, so 20 percent would make it about 50 thousand. Victoria—"Silas and Wendy were already dizzy. Turning to them, Victoria instructed, "Give us a moment, and take Onyx with you.""You …" Silas looked at her suspiciously. Was she planning to keep all the money to herself?She gave him a warning glare, and he and Wendy obediently led Onyx away.They shouldn't offend their moneybag right now.Victoria looked at Asher. "That's over 240 thousa
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. It was a teenager who was around 15 years old. Not bothering to keep up his image, he sat on the floor and clung to Sebastian's leg.Besides him, many others were standing around Sebastian. They all looked at Sebastian pitifully.Asher loudly asked the one kneeling, "Just look at you, Troy Lancaster! What happened to your enthusiasm?"It's only a meager sum. Do you really have to react this way?"Troy Lancaster? He was the Lancaster family's youngest son, Sebastian's younger maternal cousin.Victoria had a photographic memory. She saw his name when she skimmed through the log book earlier.He had bet 500 silver coins, which wasn't the least of all. It wasn't a hefty sum either, considering who he was.The Lancasters had very conflicting approaches in his upbringing. His mother pampered him, while his father was very strict toward him because he thought he was spoiled.Judging from his reaction, he must've been greedy and impulsivel
Once Roxy left, several women with ill intentions who criticized Victoria earlier became uneasy. They came up with excuses and left one after another.As the drama ended, everyone calmed down. Some were listless, while some were feeling down.There were also a few who approached Victoria, among whom were mainly men. They earnestly introduced themselves.Benjamin scanned the men who surrounded Victoria and somehow felt betrayed. Glowering, he seemed about to fly off the handle.His glare was too harsh, and many retreated after a short exchange with Victoria. She studied those who resolutely remained beside her.Compared to people from the outside world, the clan members had less desire for material possessions.Those who stood their ground didn't feel displeased at losing a hefty sum in the bet. They also withstood the pressure Benjamin's glare exuded.It was fair to say they were the best among the best.They were from decent families and had been receiving proper education sin