“That’s the suspicious part.”Jim added, “They were probably targeting you.”“I’m wondering if it was Madam Fisher’s or her sons’ doing.”Liberty analyzed the situation. “I don’t think Madam Fisher would make such an amateur mistake. If she had arranged it, the drivers would’ve increased their speed only when they were nearer to me. It would be harder for me to dodge them.“It can’t be Caroline. I’m on good terms with her.”Liberty and Caroline were business rivals, always trying to snatch each others’ clients. Business aside though, they got along well. They would have become good friends if Caroline were not the Fisher family’s heir. Liberty admired Caroline’s character. “The Clark brothers probably want me dead, especially Adrian. I’ve sent his wife a picture of his affair with Celine. He must’ve guessed it was me.“Now that Celine is dead, maybe he wants to avenge her.“Madam Fisher has gone on a trip too. She doesn’t want me alive, but she has far better methods.”Ji
“Are you free to speak now, Caroline?” Liberty asked. “I’m always free if you need my help.”“Let’s meet up somewhere then. You can choose the location.”Caroline agreed. She asked, “What happened?”“I just came out of Fortress Hotel and almost got hit by two cars at the entrance. They said they accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake because they got nervous seeing a crowd. There was a flaw though. I doubt it was simply an accident.”Caroline understood immediately. She said, “Are you suspecting that my mother was behind this?“I don’t think so because she isn’t around.”Although Caroline knew Belinda was not a good person, she still hoped her mother would not do such a thing. Liberty replied, “I don’t think it’s your mom either. She’s cunning, yes, but even if she wants me dead, she won’t use such a poorly planned and obvious scheme.”Liberty, Kevin, and Hayden had previously attended a banquet at Fisher Manor and they were involved in an accident on their way
Hunter and his sons truly adored Celine. They refused to accept the return of Caroline, their biological daughter and sister. They always thought she was an intruder who stole everything that belonged to Celine. They felt nothing for her but resentment. However, Caroline had grown up in a harsh environment with minimal family love. She did not expect her biological family to treat her well, or have any affection for them. The bonds between a parent and child, as well as siblings, had to be nurtured. Since Caroline had not been with her family when she grew up, her relationship with them was nonexistent. Although it had been two years since she returned to the family, how could that compare to Celine's time with them?Now that Celine was gone, Hunter and his sons were pretending to be nice to Caroline. In truth, they probably despised her and thought her appearance caused Celine’s downfall. However, Caroline had a good relationship with her sisters-in-law. Emma insisted
Caroline met Adrian just as he was exiting the elevator. They stopped in their tracks. Adrian walked out of the elevator first. Caroline was in no rush to enter either. “Are you heading out, Caroline?”Adrian had a file in his hand. Maybe he had a document that required her signature.Since his mother was not around, the most crucial stamp of approval was Caroline’s. Many important documents would only be valid with her signature and stamp. Adrian usually assigned the task of obtaining signatures to his secretary, having rarely done it himself. Caroline replied, “Yes, I have some things to attend to. What’s the matter?”She glanced at the file in his hand. Adrian did not pass it to her. He said, “I have a document that needs your approval.“Can you leave a little later? What do you have to do? Is it urgent?” Adrian asked gently with a hint of probing. Unless Caroline was going to meet a business client, her whereabouts were mostly unknown to him. It was difficult to
While Adrian had no more feelings for Emma, they used to have a good relationship. They had kids, and he was nice to their children. He doted on his daughter the most.When he discovered that Celine was not his biological sister and Caroline looked weak, he was overjoyed. He had hoped Belinda would make his daughter the next matriarch. Although his daughter did not seem capable, she was still young. She would do well if Belinda were willing to train her as the successor. Therefore, Adrian showered a lot of love on his daughter. When he heard Caroline’s question, he tried defending himself. However, he could not find any words and remained silent.Meanwhile, Caroline had finished reading the document and found no issues. She called Belinda to inform her about the contents of the documents. She would only sign after getting the green light from her mother to avoid falling into her brothers’ traps and getting scolded by Belinda afterward. “Adrian is here, Mom. He asked me when y
“Mom.”Adrian laughed sheepishly. “Dad will do no such thing. Although he made a mistake, he still has you in his heart.“Dad’s living at my place, and he’s been talking about you every day. He wonders who will be there to take a walk with you when you’re in a bad mood. He even reads romance novels on his phone to learn how the male lead pursues the female lead. He wants to beg for your forgiveness.”Hunter was already castrated. No matter how pretty and young the other women were, he could not have them. Belinda had utterly cut him off from indulging in his desires. Nevertheless, Hunter disagreed to a divorce. Although he despised his wife, he was unwilling to get a divorce because he knew he would barely get any assets and leave with nothing. He could never win against Belinda in Jensburg unless he lived longer than she did. That way, he could utilize his authority as an elder of the Fisher family after she died. However, that could only be achieved if the new matriarch
Belinda could not be bothered to talk to Adrian any longer. After scolding him, she said, “I’ll hang up if you have nothing else.”“I’ll help Carol out, Mom. I don’t have anything else to say. You get busy then.”Belinda ended the call.Adrian breathed a sigh of relief.He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat that beaded his forehead when he hastily accused his mother earlier.Adrian must have been terrified for him to sweat on a cold day.Caroline passed him a piece of tissue.Adrian put the phone down and accepted the tissue. He wiped his sweat and said, “I was scared shitless just now. I don’t even know what came over me.”“You must’ve eaten a bowl of courage to say that.”Adrian glared at her. He complained, “It’s your fault. Why did you pass the phone to me when you and Mom were speaking? I fear her so much now. I feel like a mouse that has spotted a cat whenever I see her.”“Weren’t you the one who asked when she’ll be back? I didn’t know the answer and since I was
Caroline said, “My eldest niece is ten years younger than me. She’s not suitable to be my daughter. If I must adopt, then my youngest niece who’s a few years old will do.”That would be Jason’s youngest daughter, who was only six years old.Of course, those were empty words. She would not adopt her niece as her daughter. Caroline wanted a child of her own. If she could not wed a husband, then she would ask Darren as the sperm donor and try conceiving via IVF.Darren was clever and capable. She believed that their daughter would not be inferior in any way. Caroline’s nieces were mediocre at best. It would be difficult to train them to become future matriarchs. Otherwise, Belinda would have chosen one of her granddaughters instead of helping Caroline rise to the ranks.Darren was loyal to Caroline. He would be more dedicated to protecting her and their daughter if they shared a daughter. It would be a win-win situation. Although Caroline did not want to admit it, among all
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