Liberty listened as George tore into Jessica while thinking to herself, ‘Surely, the Browns pushed Jessica too far until a weak girl like her went stabbing.’People tended to act recklessly when cornered and pressured. Murder often happened when people were pushed over the edge. Liberty was not surprised that Jessica would stab Chelsea since Chelsea loved to stir the pot. Chelsea often poked her nose in Hank’s business, so it was no wonder Hank’s wife resented her. Before Liberty and Hank got a divorce, Liberty hated Chelsea’s guts. It was a good thing that Chelsea did not always stick around the Browns’ family home back then. The breathing space kept Liberty from losing her mind and committing murder. Chelsea resented Jessica for aiding and abetting outsiders to kidnap Lucas, so she went after Jessica at every turn. Chelsea would create a rift between Hank and Jessica and pit her parents against Jessica every time she stayed at the Browns’ residence. The Browns’ household was
During the first time Liberty wheeled Duncan out for some fresh air downstairs, Duncan realized that the people, who went in and out of the hospital, paid no mind that Duncan could not walk. No one gave him looks of sympathy. Death was frequent in the hospital. Wheelchair-bound was nothing compared to death. “Over here, Liberty.” With Liberty approaching, Mrs. Lewis stopped and beckoned at her. Duncan tensed his facial muscles as if the world owed him. While Liberty was talking with George, Duncan overheard that George was Liberty’s ex-husband’s brother-in-law. He had a problem with it. The Browns were everywhere. Liberty either always ran into the Brown family, or the Browns would pester Liberty at All You Can Eat. The divorce was more than six months ago. What more did the Browns want? Did they think that Liberty would be unwanted after Hank? The Brown family sure thought Hank was all that. Liberty’s previous weight never bothered Duncan, but he did think that L
Liberty said, “I want to take a look, Mrs. Lewis. Sonny is his son. Sonny should see Hank one last time if he doesn’t make it. Mr. Lewis, your mom will stay with you for now.” “I’ll keep Duncan company. Go on. Let us know if you need anything.” Liberty nodded her head and quickly took off. Once she was gone, Mrs. Lewis wheeled her son ahead and uttered, “Look at what happened to Hank. This is the cost of his affair. Duncan, you must remain true in your marriage and your family if you ever get married and have kids. “I would rather you stay single if you can’t stick to your wife and kids. Don’t go hurting someone else’s daughter.“I don’t have a daughter, but I am a woman. No woman wants to see their man with another woman. A divorce is an option if there is no more love in the marriage. At least, people are free to love and court anyone after the divorce.” Duncan callously said, “I will remain single for the rest of my life, Mom. You don’t have to worry about your son becomi
Liberty could not find the words of comfort to offer. All she could do was help Mrs. Brown to sit on a chair. Liberty pulled out her pack of tissue and gave one to Mrs. Brown to wipe away her tears. Mr. Brown was teary-eyed too. He would turn away from time to time to dry his eyes. Hank was their only son. Mr. and Mrs. Brown did not know what to do if anything were to happen to him. It took a while before Mrs. Brown ceased the wailing. Nevertheless, she was too emotional to speak. Liberty turned to Mr. Brown and asked with concern, “How is Hank, Mr. Brown?” Mr. Brown choked with sobs. “He’s still in surgery. The doctors have not left the emergency room. I only saw other doctors going inside with bags and bags of blood. He lost a lot of blood…” The thought of his son’s dire condition brought tears to Mr. Brown’s eyes once more. Mr. Brown could not believe that Jessica would stab his son repeatedly. If they had not heard the commotion in Hank’s bedroom and entered the
After giving Mr. Brown a piece of her mind, Mrs. Brown tearfully said to Liberty, “Liberty, bring Sonny here. Hank adores the child. That’s his only child. Hank might pull through with Sonny here, knowing that his son misses him.” Liberty offered Mrs. Brown some words of comfort. “Seren and Elisa went to the farmer’s market today. Sonny must have gone back with her to my hometown. I’ll call Seren and ask when they will be back.” Liberty did not say no to her ex-mother-in-law’s request. It did not matter whether Hank made it or not. Sonny was Hank’s son, so the boy should be here in the hospital for Hank. Despite the couple’s divorce, Liberty had never once spoken ill of Hank in the presence of her son or taught her son to hate Hank. No matter what, Hank did cover Sonny’s child support. Mrs. Brown nodded her head in tears. She had a bad feeling that her son might not pull through. Nevertheless, Mrs. Brown continued to pray for her son’s safety. Liberty went to a corner a
“Are you Hank Brown’s family?” “We are his parents, doctor. How is my son?” asked Mr. Brown anxiously as he propped his wife, who was weak in the knees, up toward the doctor. The doctor replied, “The patient has sustained severe injuries. The surgery is successful, but he’s not out of the woods yet. We need to transfer him to the ICU for a while. It’s in his hands whether he will regain consciousness now.” Mrs. Brown’s body went limp. Unable to hold Mrs. Brown up, Mr. Brown worked together with Liberty to stop Mrs. Brown from falling. “Save my son, doctor! Please save my son! He’s my only son. He’s young…” Mrs. Brown grabbed the doctor’s lab coat and pleaded in tears. “Mrs. Brown.” Liberty pulled Mrs. Brown’s hands back before apologizing and thanking the doctor. Showing an understanding of the family’s predicament, the doctor replied, “We have done all we can. We can’t be certain whether the patient will pull through, but please prepare yourselves for the worst.” I
Jessica was taken away by the police. She was supposed to face jail time, but she could serve her sentence out of prison with an ankle monitor because she was pregnant. Now that Jessica lost the baby and was involved in an armed assault with the intent to kill, the charges would only pile on. In the event Hank did not make it out alive, Jessica might not escape the death penalty following a retrial and the new charges. Liberty wanted to meet with Duncan and his mother at the entrance of the in-patient department, but Mrs. Lewis called and told her that they had returned to the ward. Hence, she made her way toward Duncan’s private ward. “You’re here, at last, Ms. Liberty. Mr. Duncan threw another fit. He’s smashing whatever things he can reach.” The Lewises’ bodyguard immediately informed Liberty of Duncan’s tantrum upon her arrival. “Why did he lose his temper again?” Liberty asked while entering the ward. The bodyguard answered, “We aren’t too sure. Mrs. Lewis brought Mr
Duncan immediately hurried Liberty to handle the discharge paperwork. The doctor whined in his head, ‘The doctors and nurses have enough of your daily fuss anyway. The early discharge is not a big deal, so you can leave if you want to.’ The Lewises were wealthy, and they had their family doctors. The Lewis family would hire specialized care for Duncan when he got out of the hospital. “Doctor, is my son fine to be discharged?” Mrs. Lewis was worried that her son’s condition may worsen after the discharge. “Mr. Lewis can be released from the hospital if he wants to. He might feel better recuperating at home. The speed of recovery is linked to the patient’s moods too.” Since the doctor said so, Mrs. Lewis told the bodyguards to pack up while she and her husband went to deal with the paperwork for Duncan’s hospital release. Duncan, the tantrum thrower, was left in Liberty’s care. Now that he could get out of the hospital, Duncan felt merry and quit whining. He sat in the liv
Lilian often messed with the medicinal herbs her master cultivated, which led to her being chased and scolded by him.It seemed her son had inherited her restless nature.“How’s Sonny been lately?”Liberty had been on edge these past few days because Caroline had been preparing to lure her three brothers into a trap and had not had time to call her son.“Same as usual, but it seems like things have soured again with the Browns.”Serenity added, “Sonny still answers when Hank calls him, but he doesn’t seem happy when his grandparents visit. He doesn’t like going to the Browns’ place, and he doesn’t want to take their calls either.“Hank’s mother and sister are truly incorrigible. They must have been badmouthing you and Duncan in front of Sonny again, which is why he’s upset with them.”During the holidays, Sonny had stayed with the Browns for a few days and started to warm up to them.However, who would have thought that the mother and daughter would start spouting nonsense in f
Once the baby was born, he would apply the knowledge he had learned over the past few months to care for the baby. He was determined to be a competent and responsible father.Serenity released her arms from around him and shifted to her side.Zachary let go, too, allowing her to turn.Then, she planted countless gentle kisses on his face.“Babe, with you here, the baby and I will be just fine. Don’t worry too much,” Serenity comforted softly after kissing him.“You are my rock. If even you are nervous, I’ll start feeling anxious too, and that won’t be good.”Hearing this, Zachary immediately said, “Seren, don’t worry. I’ll protect both of you. Alright, I won’t be so nervous anymore.”He gently touched her rounded belly again. “Lil’ Bun should be a calm kid. He’s not that mischievous.”He felt that the baby’s movements were not too intense.Serenity wanted to tell him that there were times when the baby kicked more vigorously, but she decided against it, knowing it would only m
“Just hit the gym a few more times. Lately, you’ve been spending less time there.”Every day after work, he would come home and orbit around her. As a result, he had less time to work out.It was normal to gain a few pounds eating well and exercising less. Did he really think he could eat anything without gaining weight?The reason he could maintain a model-like physique before was that he exercised daily.“Ow.” Serenity suddenly cried out in pain.This startled Zachary so much that he nearly jumped up, asking anxiously, “Is it stomach pain? Are you going into labor? Let’s go to the hospital right away.”He was about to pick her up, but Serenity stopped him by pressing his hand.“Don’t be so nervous, Zachary. It's not time yet. It’s not happening so soon. It’s just the baby kicking again. His kicks are getting stronger.”As she entered the later stages of pregnancy, the little one inside her was growing stronger. Sometimes, a couple of kicks from the baby could actually hurt.
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