“It just happened that you and Celine had ended up… Caroline wasn’t involved in that at all.“We may not have raised Caroline, but she’s our biological daughter, Hunter. Our blood flows in her.“You’re always trying to blame her for everything bad that happened. And you call yourself a dad?”Hunter was speechless from Belinda’s scolding. After some time, he said, “Was Celine and I… Was it an accident and not a scheme?”“Yes. If it were a scheme, it would’ve been your beloved eldest son who had set you up. If you can accept that, then you can think whatever of it. I can’t control your thoughts.”Hunter had no words. He did not believe that Adrian would set him and Celine up. Hunter had four children. Before knowing Caroline was his true daughter, his favorite children were Adrian and Celine. Adrian and Hunter were extremely close. How could his son have betrayed him and Celine? It must have been an unfortunate turn of events. “If you knew it was an accident between Ce
After their marriage, Belinda was stricter with Hunter than their sons. It was not done out of love. She simply did not allow him the chance to cheat on her. “Celine also died because she wanted to get revenge on me. She seduced Adrian. Don’t you think this is enough of a reason?“Emma is asking for a divorce now. Celine didn’t only ruin our marriage but also Adrian’s. She deserved more than just death. I won’t investigate to find out if it was a murder or suicide, nor will I allow anyone to look into it using the Fisher family’s connections.“Anyone who dares to use my family’s connections will face heavy consequences.”Belinda then got up and left with her head high. Hunter watched her leave. He felt a mixture of fear, anger, and helplessness. Ever since he had agreed to marry into the Fisher family, he could never be confident before his wife. His days were better if his wife was in a good mood. Of course, Hunter and Belinda had their honeymoon phase. However, as Beli
Jason consoled his Hunter. He did not dare to look into whether Celine’s death was accidental or if her biological brother had pushed her off. Belinda had made it clear that Celine’s death was what it was and that no one in the family was supposed to mention her ever again. Hunter vented his frustration and sadness to his son. “I’m not going to your place after I’m discharged. I’ll return to the manor. I promise not to offend your mom anymore. I’m already in my seventies. I may be counting down my days, but I’ll be your shelter for as long as I’m alive.“If I’m around, your mom can vent her anger at me whenever she’s in a bad mood. That way, you boys won’t have to face an angry mother.“Jason, you and your brothers must be careful from now on. Although Belinda’s your mom, she prioritizes the Fisher family over you all. She can even sacrifice any of you for the family, anytime.“If you boys don’t want to end up like me or Cece, you must establish a career of your own. If so,
It was Liberty. She did not have a mask on, but she wore sunglasses and a cap too. She removed her cap and stuffed it inside her bag only after entering the cafe. Caroline said, “I didn’t want anyone to recognize me.”“Why? Are you in a bad mood? Shouldn’t you be happy that your competitor is gone?”Caroline took off her sunglasses and mask. After putting them on the table, she said, “I didn’t do anything. She didn’t die by my hands. “Even if I’m happy about it, I can’t express it openly anyway.”Liberty called a waiter over and ordered a cup of coffee. After the waiter left, she took a bite of a dessert and complimented, “The desserts here are absolutely tasty.”“Of course. Just look at which family owns this hotel.”Caroline smiled and added, “I heard the York men are all skilled in cooking.”Liberty replied, “I’m closest to Zachary, Callum, and Kevin. They’re indeed good at cooking.”“If a hotel is managed by someone who knows their food, the food in the hotel will defi
After a pause, Caroline added, “However, I still wish to compete against you in business. You should learn as much as you can. The business world is complicated and ever-changing. You aren’t ruthless as it is.”Liberty smiled. “I’m definitely inferior to you in this. I admit that.”She had worked for several years before becoming a housewife. When she started anew, she ran small businesses. While Audrey had sent her over to Jensburg with the support of several families, she needed to have the ability to manage the situation. Liberty had not been involved in business as long as Caroline was.More importantly, her business in Jensburg had just started. Caroline smiled. “This is the best time to steal your orders and strike you down. I’m sorry, but I’ve taken the deal you’ve been negotiating for a week.”Liberty’s eyes gleamed. “On the other hand, I’ve cinched the business you’ve been trying to secure for a month. I even felt sorry about it because you’re my senior in business a
Whenever she ate out and had leftovers, she always had them to go. She was not scared of others making fun of her. Having grown up in a farming village and was treated badly by her adoptive mother, her habit of avoiding wastage was completely understandable. Ten minutes later, Caroline drove back to Fisher Enterprise. As soon as she arrived at the company’s entrance, she was blocked by a few people. Her adoptive family was here. They must have waited at Fisher Enterprise for quite some time but failed to see her. They did not expect her to be out of office. Her brothers had spotted her in the car first. They notified their mom, who confirmed Caroline’s identity. Carmen brought her sons to Caroline. Caroline stopped her car. She was not afraid of these people when in her territory. She also believed they would not dare touch her on the Fishers’ turf. When they approached her, Caroline lowered her window and asked Carmen coldly, “What are you three doing here?”“Carol.
“Mom’s health has been deteriorating. She has to see the doctor every month for injections and medications. It requires a lot of money.”Jacob, Celine’s eldest brother, stated the purpose of their visit. “That’s right. Jacob’s and my salaries aren’t that high. We have to pay for our own family’s expenses too. Dad used to pay for all the costs, and you’ve also contributed money when you started earning some. Now that Dad… Mom doesn’t have an income, and you’ve left our family too.“Jacob and I are struggling to support our families. We don’t have extra money to take care of Mom. She has to get injections and medications frequently. It really costs a lot, and we can’t afford it.”Caroline turned toward Carmen. Carmen avoided her gaze and dared not meet her in the eye. Asking Caroline for money was her sons’ idea. Carmen refused to visit at first. The woman knew Caroline hated their family and that they had mistreated her since the daughters’ swap. In the past, no matter how mu
“Please make way. Otherwise, I’ll have to get the security to haul you away,” said Caroline sternly. There was no way she would let the Dotts take advantage of her. She was not even part of their family. Even if she was, she refused to let them suck her dry. “Carol, don’t be so heartless. I’m still your adoptive mother who has raised you. You and the Fishers should pay us for the effort.”Caroline retorted, “Did your family pay us? The Fishers raised Celine too, until she was a full-grown woman, but with more money and effort. If we must compare the amount spent on raising each of us, your family will have to pay the Fishers a larger sum.“Let’s not forget Marc Dott was the one who switched Celine and I at birth. Who else can you blame but your father for making such a grave mistake? You should blame your own family for being too ambitious.”The Dotts had planned to make their daughter the heir of the Fishers. Once she took over the family, they would then reveal the truth and
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