Ruth’s eyes lit up, and she sat up straight. “I’d dare to!”Abel’s gaze was full of doting affection, even if he did not realize it himself. “You’d dare to publicly go against Blakewell Corporation?”Ruth gave a small smile, but her bright eyes sparkled full of life. “I came here today to talk about this, but he’s too busy to meet me. Lockton Corporation belongs to my family, so it’s only logical for me to want its companies. He’ll have to forgive me for wanting to buy them. I believe he’ll be able to understand my reasoning and won’t hold it against a nobody like me.”Abel coolly gave her a reminder. “I thought you said he has a few screws loose in his head and is a bald, single man, who only cares about profit?”Ruth had lost her rationality from anger earlier, and it was only at this moment that she realized that Abel belonged to Grand Empire, and she had just cursed at his boss. She also needed his help…Her smile gained a flattering edge. “Those were just assumptions! If yo
“Correction. There’s no us here. Blakewell Corporation is just delaying the procedure for you. What does that have to do with me? Did you ask me for my opinion when you decided to sell those companies?” Ruth yawned. Since she did not deny it, Callum became sure that she had created this trouble for him. His voice turned cold. “Did you actually think that I won’t have any other way to get money just because you ruined my chance of selling those companies to Blakewell Corporation?”Ruth opened her eyes. Her thick eyelashes covered the sharp glare in her eyes as she waited for him to continue speaking. Just as she expected, Callum had called to disgust her. “Even if the Blakewell family won’t buy those companies, someone else will! I just have to sell them at a lower price and sell more of Lockton Corporation’s assets.”Ruth clenched her phone tightly and hissed, “Do you even have a conscience? Those companies belong to the Lockton family!”“Why don’t you reflect on your action
The Gate to the Heart was a major work produced by Grand Empire. The genius director with great judgment over what was good and what was bad was going to direct it, so everyone in the entertainment industry wrecked their heads to get a role in the show, even if it was just a minor character. They were casting the supporting actress that afternoon. The actresses who came for the audition were all dressed up prettily while they whispered to each other quietly. “I heard that Grand Empire’s boss will be participating in the casting this time.”“Seriously? There’s no way that can be true.”“I thought he never shows up in public?”“Grand Empire has a lot of expectations for this show. They’ve invested a few hundred million in it!”When Harper Williams said that this show would blow up, Grand Empire generously paid eighty million dollars for the licensing fees. Many investors then came forward because they wanted a piece of the pie. Even if it did not become a hit show, they cou
While they were talking to each other, the judges walked in. They sat down. The seat in the middle was left empty, while next to it sat the genius director. Some people were born to join the entertainment industry, such as Vincent Dufor. His first work after his graduation earned more than one billion in the box office. Each and every one of his works after that was also a hit. Apparently, he had been furthering his studies abroad, but came back and even chose to work with Grand Empire to be the chief director for the Gate to the Heart. Some people said that the show was already guaranteed to blow up with Vincent Dufor directing it. However, Vincent Dufor was sitting next to the empty seat in the middle. There was no doubt about it. That seat was left for the investor. Everyone’s eyes sparkled in anticipation. However, when the audition began and Vincent Dufor sternly criticized two actresses until they cried, their focus finally returned to the room. The atmosphere also
Ruth cocked an eyebrow. She was a little surprised. But she still stood up and motioned for Summer to get on stage while she headed to the judges. When Vincent Dufor saw Ruth, his aura immediately changed. He no longer looked as cold and stern as before. Instead, he looked kind of cute, like someone with a sugar-and-ice personality. However, no one else noticed it. Only Ruth heard him ask sarcastically when she got near him. “Who’s she?”The upper management member introduced Ruth to him respectfully. “She’s the second major investor of the show, Ms. Ruth Lockton of Lockton Entertainment.”The judges were all experienced members of society. When they saw the upper management member’s attitude, they did not dare to show Ruth any disrespect and quickly greeted her respectfully. Ruth nodded at them politely and sat down in the middle. To show his respect, the upper management member introduced Vincent Dufor to her as well. “Ms. Lockton, this is Vincent Dufor. I’ve mentioned hi
Eislyn frowned. “I didn’t study her too much. But I’m just going to act with her, right? It shouldn’t be a problem.”Luna shook her head and said in a resigned voice, “You’re too naive.”Eislyn was puzzled. “They’ve basically decided to give her that role. If you go and act with her, you’re only going to become a stepping stone for her! If you want this chance, you’ll have to fight for it!”Eislyn said nothing. She knew this, but she could do nothing about it. Ruth was the investor. As long as the person she picked was about the same level as Eislyn in terms of acting, everyone would pick that person. When Luna saw that Eislyn had accepted her fate, she became even more anxious, so she drew closer to give her a reminder. “New actresses are all worried about other artists overshadowing them. If you humiliate her once, we’ll all know who’s more suited for the role.”Eislyn’s eyes lit up, and she gave Luna a confident smile. “Don’t worry. I’m good at that!”Luna watched Eislyn
Summer managed to net the character of Jodi Lester after that display.However, even after the auditions ended, Victor Dufor could not understand how she managed to master the character. When he got up to leave, he tugged at Ruth’s sleeve. “What did you tell her?”“I told her that Eislyn dumped her idol and even cheated on him, which led to her idol suffering from neurasthenia. He’s now receiving treatment for it.”Victor Dufor was shocked. When they reached the parking lot, Summer was still heartbroken about her idol. Ruth stopped walking to look at her. It was only then that Summer registered what she did and thought that she had failed the audition. Her face instantly turned pale. “I-I’m sorry, Ruth. I got so mad that I forgot where I was and what I was doing…”Ruth said nothing and just stared at her quietly. Somehow, Summer still had the courage to ask about her idol, even though she knew she was dead meat. “But is what you said true? Is Eislyn really that horrible?”
Victor Dufor sat in his car and watched Summer leave. When he saw her repeatedly turning around to look at them, he raised his eyebrows. “I don’t care that you’re bringing up a new actress, but why did you pick this one? She doesn’t seem smart.”Ruth rolled her eyes at him. “And you look smart? How did you end up failing your last movie again?”Very few people knew that Victor Dufor had picked a good script for production two years ago. However, he trusted his disciple too much and was betrayed. While he was casually picking his investors, his disciple wrote a low-budget version of the script, got investments using Victor Dufor’s name, and started shooting the film ahead of Victor Dufor. When Victor Dufor was about to begin shooting the movie, the disciple’s movie had already gone up on the big screens. It blew up. Meanwhile, Victor Dufor could only thank his lucky stars that he had done a proper job keeping the script confidential, so the artists did not know it. No one
Galen stood nervously at the side. At first, he wanted to step in and help, but he held himself back.In the end, he gave up and watched the fight.The more he watched, the more startled he was.Despite her delicate frame, her moves were calculated and ruthless.Many of her moves were lethal.She was a young woman who was loved. She was pampered and adored by everyone. How was such a person so ruthless in combat?It was as if she often fought to the death…Mr. Watson was shaken as well. He covered his neck with one hand, while his other hand hung limply by his hand. He looked at Lily in shock. His other hand hung weakly by his side. He looked at Lily in shock.How could such a small and delicate-looking person possess such strength? Was she really the heiress of the Cavendish family?“Do you want to verify it? The wounds match with the one who attacked me. I broke his right wrist on the spot, though. After that, I didn’t wait for reinforcement to come. I moved immediately an
Her hand paused while hefting the silver fork.Ruth’s husband was really very considerate. He loved her sister truly and everyone in her family.She decided to find a boyfriend like him for herself in the future.“I definitely will!” She thought.She stood in the spacious living room and looked at the man beside Galen who wanted to get to the bottom of this investigation. Her fingers tightened on the fork. “Words might not be enough to explain. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you give this a try?”Galen had not reacted when Charles spoke, nor when Abel had talked about switching it to a blunt weapon, but he definitely did now. “Nonsense!” he said sternly and stood up.Lily’s fighting spirit was ignited, but his stern rebuke deflated half of it. “Why not? Is it now allowed? You said attacking a police officer wasn’t allowed, didn’t you?”“He doesn’t count!” Galen said with disdain.Lily’s aggressive stance was completely deflated. “Well… if he doesn’t count, then his skills
The seemingly innocent question was directed at the young police officer.He looked troubled.Her delicate appearance did not help.The young police officer turned to the stern-faced man beside Galen for some help. The man pursed his thin lips and spoke in a deep voice.“Your Excellency… Madam… the nature of this case is severe, but the process of investigation is smooth. If your daughter doesn’t reveal the whole truth, it’ll be difficult for us to reach the crux of the issue. I assume that you don’t just want the result from this investigation but also the truth?”His firm voice was authoritative yet respectful.Charles turned to look at him. His brown eyes were calm, and he was sizing up this person.The police officer’s cold demeanor momentarily faltered. He quickly looked away and did not dare look him in the eye. “We’re just following procedures. To prevent this matter from escalating further, we hope for your cooperation.”He sounded intimidated yet resolute. It seemed
He was already determined to stake everything on his plan.“Right,” Lily said, “What about those bodyguards assigned to protect me? How were they swapped?”“Abel offered them ten times the price and bribed the group of bodyguards hired by Denver. The two poor people were taken down. The rest were replaced by our own people,” said Galen icily.Lily was shocked. She looked at him and then at Abel, who was driving calmly.Ruth looked at her husband with the same shocked face.So, this was how money made the world go round!When Denver had transferred money to that company, Lily had caught wind of it, but it seemed Abel had found out even sooner.He had already made arrangements to take drastic measures.“Don’t they have any morals? I heard that those kinds of organizations have principles. They won’t willingly betray the ones who employed them,” said Ruth.“As long as it’s not a terrorist organization, every organization needs connections. William’s group was already in dire stra
It was mainly because Denver clearly fabricated an alibi. But he had appeared on the scene and had been taken away.It was indeed quite puzzling.At that point, everyone looked at Abel in confusion.Abel looked straight ahead and did not speak. He only spoke when he was asked directly.“The father and son lost because they didn’t know each other’s motivations. It’s easy to bribe their people to send a message to the other and get them to the scene…”Before they set off, Sean received news that Denver was going all out and wanted to go down with Lily in the manor in the suburbs.Sean did not doubt it because Denver had been acting increasingly strange recently.He was transferring his assets and buying and renovating manors. It was as though he was prepared for death.He had even arranged for his funeral.Afraid that his son was taking things too hard, he put down whatever he was doing and rushed over to the scene.Since that was taken care of, it was easy to deceive Denver af
“See what you are doing? What if something happens to your sister?”Charles was not known for showing affection or caring about people outright.However, when his daughter cried and threw a tantrum, he could not stop himself.Charles stood by Lily without hesitation and scolded Abel for his incompetence.Ruth was originally filled with resentment and wanted to vent it out on Abel too, but when she saw that the father and daughter duo had joined forces to attack her husband, half of her resentment dissipated.With four bodyguards that had been arranged to deal with two outsiders, coupled with Lily’s abilities, her life was indeed not in danger…She glanced at Lily hesitantly. At this moment, Galen had cleaned up all the stains on her palm.Other than the redness between her thumb and index finger, she did not seem too badly hurt.All the resentment was gone. In fact, she was even a little protective. “Why did you have to deal with the four bodyguards?” Lily lowered her head an
Everyone was speechless.This discussion was fruitless. Everyone had their own opinions, and no one wanted to give in.In the end, Reina and the old man took a car, while Ruth, Abel, Charles, Galen Barker, and Lily got into another.The fire slowly died down.The cars left one after another.After Mr. Lockton got into the car, his cloudy eyes became shrewd. He asked his daughter, “Do you think that police officer is also interested in Lily?”Otherwise, why would he be so active and rush to the front? Why would he find such a lousy excuse to be the one to drop her home?“I think so, but unfortunately, Lily doesn’t seem to be as interested as before,” Reina said helplessly.Otherwise, why would she reject such a good opportunity to get into his car?Wouldn’t she have acted pitiful enough to earn his sympathy to get into the car?Mr. Lockton frowned. He was in deep thought.The last time he had heard that his granddaughter had fallen in love with another man who happened to be
Also, she was sure that if it was Luna being attacked at that time, he would have helped her without hesitation.This man was just like Notus. He was stupid, stubborn, and hypocritical.The reason why she spoke on his behalf was that she could not stand Luna’s smug face. Even if she wanted to drag someone down, she had to ask first.It was just the truth. She would not die if she made that clear anyway.Luna’s smug look cracked as she stared fixedly at her. Her gaze shifted from doubt to resentment and unwillingness.Aquilo was not surprised when Lily accused him. He knew that he had done something wrong. If not for Abel’s careful consideration, they would have died here today.However, he was quite surprised to hear her defend him.As he was handcuffed and escorted to the police car, he could not help but turn to look at her.“Lily…”Lily was about to walk to her car.She paused for a moment and turned to look at him calmly.Her usually playful eyes were indifferent at that
Aquilo opened his mouth but did not know what to say.Just then, a team of uniformed police officers rushed over to the scene to rescue the hostages.Looking at the people standing before them, they could not tell which ones were the hostages.Galen Barker walked over from behind and glanced at them. “What are you still standing here for? Get out quickly!”This manor had an ancient Sommersetese courtyard.The place where they were gathered was a small open space in the courtyard.After passing through the desolate artificial mountain pavilion, they arrived at the large courtyard outside the manor. There were many people gathered there, with many police cars parked nearby.A fire truck had also arrived.To Lily’s surprise, Sean Lovehart and his father were also there and were being escorted into the police car.When he saw her coming out, Denver’s face filled with hatred. He wanted to rush to her and strangle her. “You’ve got guts! You risked your life to drag us down with you!