Mr. Longbottom laughed heartily. Then, he looked at her and said, “Ms. Carrie, this may not be up to you. It’s best if you agree. Even if you don’t agree, you’ll have to, because I’ve approached you. I can’t let you expose me. Otherwise, I’ll have to silence you.“I will also make you die a painful death. You’ve seen my men, there are more than ten of them.”Carrie’s face turned deathly pale.“Ms. Carrie, do you choose to be with me, or do you choose death? I’ll give you a few minutes to consider.”Carrie glanced at the dozen or so men in black.Then she looked at Mr. Longbottom. Who exactly was this man?He spoke of killing without hesitation.Could he be a serial killer?Carrie suddenly sank to her knees.“Mr. Longbottom, please spare my life. I don’t want to die. I’m only twenty years old, and I don’t want to die.”Her life had just begun.Mr. Longbottom stood up, walked over to her, and lifted her.Carrie understood his intentions. Her face grew even paler, but she made
Carrie asked in confusion, “Since you are targeting Mrs. Young-Johnson’s adopted son, why don’t you directly find someone to help you in Annenburg? The distance between Wiltspoon and Annenburg is quite far. Even if she and Serenity are close, they don’t meet often.”Mr. Longbottom sighed. “That’s the unavoidable part.”“There was absolutely no trace of Laurence in Annenburg. We only knew that Laurence was the adopted son of Ben and his wife. However, no one outside knew what the child looked like.“Moreover, Laurence rarely stayed in Annenburg. We did not know where the kid usually hides. “The Johnsons are protected by the Houstons and are in-laws with the Lafayette family from Meadspring. Plus, Tim’s wife is a disciple of a renowned doctor. I dared not provoke them. Previously, we investigated Laurence’s identity, but Ben found out that someone was looking into Laurence's background. “After that, we lost all relevant information about Laurence.”“It was only recently that they
Mr. Longbottom emphasized, “I’m not interested in petty revenge. But if you want to vent, my people can help you with that. As long as you follow and assist me, I won't mistreat you.“Moreover, those who have wronged you, by that time, I can help you deal with them.”Once he obtained the totem and became the true wielder of power, it would be his time to call the shots. On that day, he would not even spare the York family a glance.Except perhaps for the Bucham family.“What exactly is your background?”“I won’t tell you for now. You’ll know later. Anyway, if you stick with me, I guarantee you a life of luxury.”With that, he caressed Carrie’s face.“Alright, I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll leave two people here to protect you. If anything happens, they’ll contact me. I have to go back. There’s too much to handle.”After lightly patting Carrie’s thigh, Mr. Longbottom stood up, instructed two bodyguards to stay, and left Carrie’s rented place with the rest of his entourage.
The two babies were a few months old and they could already roll over and have baby talks with the adults.Laurence said, “I often see Clo-clo. She recognizes me, so of course she smiles at me. You rarely play with her, and since she doesn’t recognize you, she won’t smile at you. You can play with Connor. My little sister is fine with me.”From time to time, Connor’s little legs kicked Sonny’s hands placed on the stroller. This little one was restless; he was either quiet when asleep or constantly moving, crying, and wanting adults to hold him.Even handing him a toy to play with would only last for a couple of minutes before he threw it away and started crying.Chloe, as usual, did not like to cry. If the siblings lay together, Connor would keep crying, and Chloe’s little feet would kick her brother, seemingly disdainful of him being a crybaby.Sonny bent down to kiss Chloe, but Laurence blocked him.“You can’t kiss Clo-clo. Uncle Ben said none of us can kiss her, but we must pr
“Sonny, come here.”Jane waved to Sonny.Sonny walked over to Jane, who pulled him closer and lifted him, placing him on her lap. She asked softly, “Did you fight with Laurence?”“No.”Sonny denied. He spoke with innocence, “But Laurence was right. Chloe really is his little sister. He also calls you Mama, so Clo-clo belongs to him.“Aunt Jane, I really like Chloe and really want a little sister. How about you give your Chloe to me? Please?”Jane chuckled. “We can’t give her away.”Chloe was like a little princess at FC Manor, receiving endless adoration from everyone. People from outside were allowed to hold her for only a short while as the family was worried someone might take their little princess away.“Why can’t you give her away? How about I buy her? I have money, and I’ll give all my money to you, okay?”Jane laughed. “You can’t buy her either. Clo-clo is a person, not an item for sale. Sonny, you are also Chloe’s brother. Don’t listen to Laurence’s nonsense. He is as
Sonny hugged his neck and planted a kiss on both sides of his face. Josh smiled in satisfaction. “You did a good job. Come here, I’ll give you a remote-controlled plane.”“Thank you, Josh.”Sonny happily accepted the large box.Josh set him down at an opportune moment. “Laurence, let’s go play with the plane.”Sonny called out to his friend. Upon a clearer inspection of the guests in the room, Josh remarked, “I didn’t know Laurence was here. I didn’t prepare a gift for you. I’ll make it up to you next time, alright?”“Laurence, I’ll give you this new plane. I’ll get another one, and we can play outside.”Generously, Sonny passed his new remote-controlled plane to Laurence.He had numerous of the same plane, all gifts from his uncles and aunts, Josh included.He also had many remote-controlled toy cars and even more windmills.Dunc often gave him windmills.Recently, since Sonny had shown less interest in windmills, Dunc changed it up a bit. However, when he saw that Son
Jasmine said, “That’s right. Do you think your family owns Wiltspoon? Does a visitor have to ask for the Bucham family’s permission before coming?”Josh smiled. “I didn’t say that. I just relayed what my subordinates reported.”Josh would seldom tell Zachary about any tycoons’ visits but now was a critical period.Liberty had gone to Jensburg. Lisa Hunt was the youngest daughter of the previous matriarch of the Fishers, a special family among prominent families. They knew the true reason behind Liberty’s trip to Jensburg. Now, a tycoon appeared out of nowhere and his background could not be traced. He came and left in a rush, so the Bucham family’s informants reported that suspicious person to their superiors. Julian was still wooing his girl at Summervale, so Josh was left in charge of the happenings in Wiltspoon and any reports would reach Josh. If there was anything he could not handle, he would consult Julian or Walter. “Josh, do you think that person came from Jensb
Ben nodded. The twins’ naps could last up to two to three hours as long as their stomachs were filled. Once the wives were out of earshot, Zachary told Ben, “You guys are probably being watched. To be specific, someone is after Laurence.”Ben’s gaze turned serious. Josh was confused. Zachary explained, “Josh said a suspicious man came to Wiltspoon with bodyguards and only stayed briefly. You and your family just happened to visit Wiltspoon with Laurence today. I think these incidents may be related somehow.”Ben was FC & Co.’s owner and a well-known figure in Annenburg. Anyone who dared set their eyes on Ben could not be underestimated. More importantly, they knew there was a totem on Laurence’s back and the vengeance he sought. Laurence’s family was murdered. He only escaped because his nanny fled with him to Meadspring. Those who had wiped Laurence’s family out had been hunting him down since. However, Jane found Laurence and adopted him as her son. He was safe becaus
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