Trenton would take his driver’s license exam during his next summer vacation. Now, whenever he went out, he would either take a taxi or get his family’s driver to drop him off.Camryn arranged for the driver to send Trenton to see Carrie. Once they left, Camryn arranged for someone to secretly follow her brother and find out exactly where Carrie was living. Camryn did not believe Carrie did not have a permanent residence. If she really were doing that badly, she would have come to make a fuss a long time ago.Even if Camryn was not in Wiltspoon, with Carrie’s temperament, she definitely would have gone to make a fuss at Wildridge Manor. There was no way she would stay quiet.Half an hour later, Trenton arrived at the bustling street by Grand Wiltspoon Square. It was a popular place for a walk after dinner, which made the already busy street even livelier. The driver stopped in front of Starbucks.As Trenton got out, he said to the driver, “I’ll get myself home. You don’t have to wa
Carrie patted her own face and said, “I didn’t put on any makeup either. I don’t even have the money to buy makeup now.”She was still recuperating and it had only just been a few days, so even if Mrs. Douglas made her good food every day, she had not made a full recovery.Trenton looked at Carrie for a moment, and said, “You’re only in your early twenties. You don’t need makeup and you’re naturally beautiful.”Carrie was speechless. Trenton was almost definitely a straight man. No matter how young Carrie was, she still needed makeup and skincare. Before her parents went to jail, she only used the most expensive skincare brands. It felt weird not to use it even for just a day.“Have you eaten, Carrie?” Trenton asked.“Not yet. Where would I get the money to eat? I should just starve to death. I don’t have parents to dote on me anymore and my brother’s taken the outsider’s side anyway,” Carrie said with deliberate anger.“Carrie, Camryn isn’t an outsider. She’s our older sister, w
If they saw Carrie as a bad person, then were they good people? If Camryn was a good person, she should have been generous enough to let bygones be bygones and given Carrie all her parents’ assets.“Carrie, that’s not what I mean. I don’t. To me, both you and Camryn are my sisters. I just think you need to be independent, stand on your own two feet, and know how to judge the situation. “We can’t live under our parents’ protection forever. They can’t help us now, so we have to rely on ourselves. Camryn isn’t as malicious as you think she is. If she really were ruthless, you wouldn’t be sitting here cursing her out right now.“Camryn hasn’t stolen our assets either. She’s just taken back what Uncle Abel left for her, and according to the law, she’s entitled to a portion of Mom’s assets too. She is her biological daughter, after all.“I’m still studying at the moment and I can’t focus on managing the company and our business. That’s why I asked Camryn to help me with it. I trust she
“You should buy nutritious food with the money I gave you to maintain your health.”Trenton felt terrible for Carrie. However, he could not give her too much money. Carrie would spend them all indiscriminately. Moreover, she was not that bright and was easily influenced by two of their aunts. Therefore, Trenton had to control her spending and provide her with only enough money. He would not give her an extra penny even if she scolded her. Their parents had also told him not to give Carrie too much. They knew her better than he did. “I know. Do you think I don’t know how to care for my own body?”Carrie added, annoyed, “You should treat me to a good meal.”“Where do you want to eat?”“Since you’re in-laws with the Yorks, why don’t you take me to Wiltspoon Hotel? Will it be on the house?”Trenton said, “It’ll probably be on the house if I tell Callum, but I don’t want to do that. I can treat you to a meal without taking advantage of Callum.“I’m not sure if there are se
From how Trenton saw it, their parents loved Carrie the most. They only gave him their assets because he told them about her outrageous spending behavior. With Aunt Brenda and Aunt Amy keeping an eye on her, he was also worried that Carrie would get tricked. Therefore, their parents decided to listen to him and let him inherit everything to protect their assets. “Out of everyone in the family, I’ve only been meeting up with you. If you keep mentioning our parents, telling me what to do, and quarreling with me, then I’ll stop contacting you. I can’t be any more miserable than I am now anyway.”With Mr. Longbottom as her backer, Carrie also had all the money she needed. As long as she carried out the tasks he assigned her well, she would have more than enough savings even if he were to abandon her afterward. She did not need her family. Trenton thought Carrie was beyond saving. He did not want to persuade her anymore as they would always end up quarreling. He quietly paid th
Camryn’s people might not have been assigned by the York family. However, if Carrie’s bodyguards were to harm Camryn’s people, Camryn would be proven right. It was because Carrie should not have been able to go against the people Camryn had sent over. Carrie said, “Okay. You two can pick me up after leading them away.”She pretended to have forgotten to take her wallet and entered the building. She would leave after her bodyguards told her the coast was clear. Meanwhile, at Clearfield Hotel in Georgia, two cars entered the hotel’s parking lot. Not long after, a group of people took the elevator to the presidential suite on the top floor. When the elevator doors opened upon arriving at the top floor, Isabella exited with a team of bodyguards behind her. There were two female bodyguards close to her. When they were approaching the suite, the two male bodyguards stopped while the female bodyguards continued escorting Isabella to her suite. Before Isabella opened the doo
Even a simple supper looked extremely appetizing. Isabella was hungry as she only ate a few small bites and skipped dinner. “Have you eaten?” Isabella asked as she started digging in. Although Austin was her chef, she held respect for him after knowing he had a career of his own. Despite being a successful businessman, he continued learning and even gave up on his identity as a boss to travel far and become her private chef. Besides, he adapted quickly to being a chef and treated her respectfully. Isabella dared say that Austin would achieve greater things in the future. The man’s potential was unimaginable. That was why she often teased Tati. If Tati truly liked Austin, Isabella would happily play matchmaker. He was indeed an outstanding man and handsome to boot.Austin and Tati would make a good-looking couple. “Yes, I have.”Austin would never let himself go hungry. While Isabella was handling official matters, he had already cooked dinner for himself and ate
When Austin returned to his room, one of the bodyguards was showering while the other was watching the television. He gave them a simple greeting and entered his room right away. Since he did not have to follow Isabella around after arriving in Clearfield, he had already settled in. He simply had to wait for his turn to use the bathroom. It was already midnight. Austin sent a message to his family group chat: [Are you guys still awake? Come chat with me.]Soon, Zachary replied: [Let’s chat in private instead of this group. Don’t disturb our parents.]He also did not want to disturb Serenity. She was usually asleep by ten at night. Therefore, Austin messaged Zachary directly. He sent a voice message because he knew Zachary disliked typing as it was time-consuming. “You haven’t slept?” Austin asked, concerned. “Did your business dinner end late again?”“Aren’t you awake too? Are you on standby to prepare supper for your lady?”Zachary continued speaking softly, “W
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