After the call, Zachary immediately contacted Josh and told him about Liberty’s suspicion.Josh said, “I just received some news too, and was about to tell you when you called me.”Zachary asked in a low voice, “What news? Is it related to Sonny’s attempted kidnapping?”“Yeah. My brother told me that he found out that Mrs. Newman had a gang leader as a godfather more than twenty years ago. However, that leader got arrested and sentenced to death. Some of the leader’s men were also convicted, but some disappeared from the face of the earth.“I suspect they were taken in by Mrs. Newman. Those men under the leader back then were all ruthless outlaws. It was a large gang too. If Mrs. Newman took them in and made them into bodyguards, their numbers could form a large company.“That happened twenty years ago, so it’s difficult to find out their whereabouts. It’ll take some time to get confirmation. Besides, those men are probably old now after twenty years, but they might have inducted
Case in point, he just asked Josh to investigate Jessica.He could not afford to offend Josh.“Thanks in advance. You’re really a good boss who’s considerate of your subordinates.”Josh flattered Zachary.Zachary laughed. “Enough already. I don’t know you. Just go on your date and soak in the honey jar all day. Be careful not to get diabetes from all the sweetness.”“You also soak in your honey jar all day, but I don’t see you getting diabetes. I just started, so I have nothing to be afraid of. I’m going on my date now. My Jasmine likes BBQ, so I’m taking her out to eat BBQ.”Josh hung up the phone.He and Jasmine often went out to eat barbecue.“Babe, do you want some jackfruit?”Serenity opened up a jackfruit, placed the flesh on a plate, and asked Zachary while walking toward him.Zachary turned pale at the smell of the jackfruit.He immediately stood up and walked away. “Honey, I don’t like the smell of jackfruit. You can eat slowly over there.”Serenity stopped in her
“Although a stepmother is also a mother, Sonny won’t call you Mom. Saying something like that will only upset everyone.”Jessica ignored him.She went straight to the car after leaving Liberty’s apartment block.Hank got into the car.“How about I take you shopping, honey?”“Then drive already,” Jessica snapped.“I said all those things for you. I know your family and you want Sonny back. If you want to take custody of Sonny, he’ll be living with us in the future. I’m just trying to adapt to the role of being a mother in advance.”Hank said while driving, “My parents want Sonny back very much. They couldn’t bear to part with Sonny from the beginning. They’re old, and Sonny is the only Brown grandson, so of course they miss him. However, I don’t intend to regain custody of Sonny.”He looked into Jessica’s eyes and said, “Back then, it was you who persuaded me to give up custody. I feel that it’s good for Sonny to follow Liberty. The people around Liberty now are on a different l
Chelsea swore to herself that she would never let Jessica live a happy life while she was around!Jessica stopped, turned her head, and asked coldly, “What?”Chelsea put down the TV remote control, got up, and walked over. She glanced at the numerous bags in Jessica’s hands. “What did you buy? There are so many bags. Spending money is the only thing you know. Hank and you are both unemployed and have no source of income now. Don’t you know how to be frugal?“Now, everything you eat and use comes from Hank’s pocket. You worked for so long but can’t bear to spend your own money, but you always spend Hank’s money. Do you think his money grows on trees?”Chelsea criticized Jessica for not knowing how to save money while forcefully seizing the bags from Jessica’s hands.“Chelsea, what are you doing?” Hank asked.Chelsea glared at him and snapped, “Can’t I have a look? Move aside. She saw me when she came in but didn’t bother greeting me at all. You spoiled her so much that she has no
“Wouldn’t it be humiliating for me if I left just because you told me to? This isn’t your house. Are you paying the rent? If you are, I’ll go out immediately and never come back.”Chelsea did not back down.Jessica was young and used to sitting in an office. She had not much strength and simply could not compete with Chelsea.Seeing that it was impossible to drive Chelsea out, Jessica turned and shouted angrily at her husband, “Hank Brown, can’t you see your sister is bullying me? Why aren’t you helping me to kick her out? I’m telling you now, between me and her, only one of us can stay in this house!”“Chelsea. Jessica. Will you two just stop arguing? You might not get tired of fighting all day, but I’m sick of it.”Hank was fed up with this state. He had no peace at home.As soon as he got home, it was either his mother or sister quarreling with his wife—not a single day of peace.Smack!Jessica was so angry that she slapped Hank.Hank was stunned by the slap. He clutched hi
Hank yelled behind the door, “Shut up and go home, Chelsea! Don’t come here anymore. You’ll just cause trouble!”Liberty was even more ruthless when she fought against his domestic violence. She chased him down several blocks with a kitchen knife.Did Chelsea forget that?Chelsea, who was scolded by her brother, yelled back furiously, “Yes, I’m a troublemaker. I just don’t like that b*tch. My parents are here, so this is my home too. What has that got to do with her? I can come here whenever I want. It’s not like I’m eating out of her pocket or sleeping under her roof. If she’s capable, tell her to pay for her own house. I promise I won’t take a single step into her house!”She wanted to make Jessica’s life a living hell!Jessica lay on the ground and cried bitterly.Except for the time when she was caught red-handed by Liberty and beaten up, she had never been so pathetic before.She was physically and mentally hurt and felt extremely aggrieved.Hank looked at her crying and f
Liberty did not care that her ex-husband was not living a good life after their divorce.All that mattered was that she was happy.At four in the morning, she woke her son up and brought him to All You Can Eat.Another busy day began.Sonny was still small and fell asleep along the way.When they reached the store, Liberty put two chairs together to let her son sleep on them, and a few more chairs on his sides to prevent him from rolling over and falling to the ground.The two assistants she hired came to work at six in the morning.Usually, the breakfast rush hour would be from half-past six to half-past nine.Serenity would come to pick up her nephew at seven.Sonny would be awake by that time.The little man was such a good boy and did not cry after waking up. He sat by himself at the cashier, playing with the set of blocks that he had not assembled yet.“Liberty.”Serenity called out to her sister as she entered. She lent a hand when she saw it was a full house at the d
Sonny recalled Jessica’s and his mom’s explanation, but he still could not fully understand the meaning of his mom’s words. He tilted his head and asked, “Dunc, are you married?”“No, I don’t have a spouse, so I’m not married.”“Why don’t you have a spouse?”“Because I don’t have a woman I like.”Sonny blinked and asked curiously, “You don’t like my mom? Also, my Aunt Ser and Aunt Elisa are very nice. Don’t you like them too?”Duncan was speechless.He said in amusement, “Your Aunt Ser is very nice, but she already has your Uncle Zack. I can’t like your Aunt Ser. Your Aunt Elisa is also very good, but I don’t like her that way. She’s not my type.“As for your mom... I only think of her as my friend. I come over every day because I like you.”Sonny seemed to vaguely understand the part where Duncan said he liked him.He asked instinctively, “Do you want to marry me?”Duncan froze. “Sonny, we’re both boys, so we can’t get married. Although I don’t have a girlfriend yet, I’m a s
Zachary, afraid that his wife might refuse to spend time with him at his office in the future, emphasized that he was not busy today.He had already cleared his morning schedule because he needed to accompany his beloved wife for her prenatal checkup.His secretary was well aware of Serenity’s checkup dates. Whenever he saw Serenity turn up at the office with his boss, his secretary would quietly adjust his schedule.Sometimes, on the day of the Serenity’s checkup, his secretary would not schedule any appointments for Zachary at all.Even if appointments were scheduled, Zachary would request they be canceled or rescheduled.Now, in Zachary’s eyes, his wife’s matters were the most important.With Alex now able to share the workload, Zachary felt that he, as the eldest of his generation who had shouldered the bulk of the burden for so many years, deserved a break.Plus, there was the elite team the company had trained; if not now, then when would they be put to use?Everyone was
Tony turned around and left.Only after hearing the door close did Carrie dare to open her eyes.She had woken up while Tony and his son were on the phone, but she did not dare move, fearing that Tony might suspect her of eavesdropping.Just now, when that old lecher stood by the bed looking at her, there was definitely a murderous glint in his eyes. She could feel it.Sooner or later, he would kill her.Carrie was filled with panic. She wanted to escape but was afraid she would not succeed. No one was there to help her.For a moment, Carrie even considered running to Camryn to confess everything, but she quickly dismissed the thought. The reason she ended up in this situation was entirely due to Camryn.She and Camryn were sworn enemies. Their conflict would not end until one of them was dead. However, even if she died, she would drag Camryn down with her.-Meanwhile, in the CEO's office at York Corporation, Zachary, seated at his desk, kept glancing up at his pregnant wife.
“You should have gotten rid of them all back then and cultivated a network of people loyal only to you.” Manny felt that his father should not have spared those people in the first place.Tony said, “There were too many of them, all relatives and friends with the same goal as us. We couldn’t eliminate them all at once.”Back then, he had incited everyone to join him in wiping out the entire main family, sparing neither the elderly nor the children.It was because they were all from the collateral branches, jealous of the main family’s long-standing control, and shared a common goal that his conspiracy succeeded.He had also spent over a decade waiting for the right opportunity.Who would have thought that even after wiping out the main family, he still could not obtain the family seal, token, or totem? Without these, he could not become the true head of the family and could only act as a proxy. Many of the connections loyal to the head remained inaccessible.Moreover, much of the
It was his father. Manny composed himself and picked up Tony’s call as he walked toward his car.“Hey, Pops.”“How’s it going, Manny? Has there been any progress?”Tony was still in Carrie’s room at the moment, but had gotten up and walked to the balcony to call his son.Carrie was still fast asleep, though her face was set in a frown. She was obviously discomfited.Tony had pestered her for the majority of last night, so it would be weird if she did not feel any discomfort.Despite her begging, Tony would not let her go. He even forcefully drugged her to make her mess around with him while out of it. He was simply an old pervert.Before she passed out, she cursed him in her heart. However, she knew that Tony only treated her so roughly because she was just his mistress—a tool for him to vent his frustrations on.If she really was his wife, he definitely would not treat her like this.In the past, she had ambitions of taking Mrs. Longbottom’s place and becoming the real missus
Tati also finished her plate of pastries.She followed Isabella out.“Isa, you’re always so busy and exhausted. If you’re feeling even a little unwell, you should have a good rest. Stay home for the day. I can handle the work you have on hand. It’s the same either way.”Tati wanted Isabella to take the day off so Isabella could spend some time with Austin and nurture their relationship.However, Isabella still declined Tati’s kind offer.She said, “Not today. There’s an important meeting today, and I have two important clients to meet. I’m fine, really. Don’t worry. From now on, I won’t touch alcohol.”Given her current status and position, no one would dare to force her to drink during social engagements.Many people also knew that Isabella would not drink outside her home, fearing that she might fall victim to someone’s schemes.However, Isabella would occasionally make an exception. When she was in a good mood, she would have a couple of drinks.Hearing this, Tati stopped t
Austin still smiled gently and said, “It’s all thanks to Ms. Isabella’s guidance.”He felt that he had indeed improved a lot.Grandma May really understood him well. The wife she picked for him could actually help improve his culinary skills.“After eating the sweets, I feel much better.” Tati picked up another piece of pastry and ate it.Austin quietly retreated, not wanting to disturb their conversation and also to avoid overhearing their private matters.“Just ignore him. Are you really going to skip work because of him?”Isabella added calmly to Tati, “If you let him provoke you, he’ll only cling to you even more. If you act like he doesn’t exist and don’t respond no matter what he does, he’ll naturally give up once he sees that you’re completely unresponsive.”Tati said, “I’m afraid that he’ll go and bother Edith and Eleanor if he doesn’t get anywhere with me. They don’t have the same resolve as we do.”She, therefore, decided to bear the brunt of it.“Every time I see hi
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w