Liberty said, “I’ll be careful. Don’t be too worried about me.”She was extremely busy every day. The places she frequented the most were the company and Fortress Hotel. The company was probably safer than Fortress Hotel. The hotel was open to the public for business. With the number of people entering and leaving daily, hiding a killer in the crowd was easy.“Aunt Audrey sent me a message. I’ll go talk to her now.”“Okay. Be careful, Liberty.”“I know. I will.”Liberty hung up and answered Audrey’s call. Meanwhile, Serenity, who did not know what was happening in Jensburg, was in WIldridge Manor. The old-timers enjoyed the environment in the manor. They initially visited the manor for a meal but decided to stay for a few days due to the beautiful scenery and Grandma May’s insistence. People of old age could talk about the past all night.Even Patrick did not want to leave. He thought Grandma May sure knew how to enjoy life as she had built such a grand manor to spend
After some time, Sonny raised his head and asked Serenity, “Will Mom give me a little sister, Aunt Ser?”He was young and knew nothing about love. However, he knew Liberty was going to marry Duncan soon. Sonny also had no idea what marriage meant aside from the fact that the two people would live together after getting married.Dunc would probably move to live with him and Mom. Alternatively, he and Mom would be moving into Dunc’s house.He also knew there would be babies after marriage, just like Aunt Ser had a little brother in her womb after she and Uncle Zak got married.That was why Sonny was wondering if his mother would give birth to a little sister for him. “It’s difficult to say. It may or may not happen.”Serenity dared not confirm whether Liberty would have another child after remarrying. It was up to Liberty. Of course, the Lewises wished Liberty would have another baby regardless of gender. That way, Duncan would have a child sharing his blood. “I want a l
Serenity had no choice but to put Sonny down. She said, “I have to answer a call. It might be Zachary calling.”She took out her phone and looked at the caller ID. True enough, it was Zachary. “Is it Uncle Zak, Aunt Ser?”“Yes.”Sonny extended his little hand. “Let me answer it, Aunt Ser. Let me.”Serenity passed the phone to him with a smile. He picked up the call skillfully. “Uncle Zak,” said Sonny clearly. “Where’s your aunt, Sonny? It’s pretty late now. Have you bathed?”Zachary knew Sonny had been playing a lot. Serenity always had to grab him back to bathe.The York family’s elders doted on Sonny a lot. Thankfully, he did not become a spoiled child because of Serenity and Liberty. “Not yet. Aunt Ser said she was taking me back to bathe. I haven’t played enough. I said I wanted to play some more, but Aunt Ser wouldn’t let me. When’s your vacation, Uncle Zak? Aunt Ser won’t scold me anymore if you play with me.”Zachary said, “She’ll scold me if she doesn’t scold y
Zachary hung up after giving Serenity a few reminders. In the past, he would have wanted to be on the phone with her for several hours. Now that he was hiding something from her, he quickly ended the call because he was afraid of exposing something.Serenity did not suspect anything because everyone was busy at the end of the year.Zachary was the head of the York family. He was busier than anyone else. Although his brothers and cousins had grown up and could share his responsibilities, not all lived in Wiltspoon permanently. Only Callum, River, and Noah left, whereas Dylan and Peter occasionally traveled to different places. Kevin and Austin had not returned to Wiltspoon as they were pursuing their happiness. Zachary and Serenity had not asked Austin how his courting was going due to the elders’ visit for the past few days.They wondered if there had been any progress between Austin and Isabella.However, it had only been a few days. Unless Isabella had fallen in love wi
“I know you’re worried, Duncan.”Zachary was speechless when he heard Duncan villainize him as if Zachary did not care about Liberty at all. As long as he was still in love with Serenity, he would be concerned about his sister-in-law’s safety. Liberty had raised Serenity and was her only sister. Zachary had nothing but respect for her. To him, Liberty was equivalent to being his mother-in-law.He would always go to Liberty whenever Serenity fought with him or ignored him. Serenity had mentioned that she had never seen a man who complained so much to the wife’s family. She could not believe Zachary was that sort of person. “Why wouldn’t I be worried about Liberty? She’s my wife’s sister. She’s like a mother-in-law to me.”Liberty had always been a mother figure to Serenity. She started looking after the ten-year-old Serenity when she was only fifteen herself. She acted as both a sister and a parent. Not only did she become a fine woman, but she also raised Serenity to
Duncan asked, “Who’s Mr. Patrick?”Zachary replied, “Oh, we forgot to tell you.”He told Duncan about Mr. Patrick. When Duncan heard that Tiara’s assistant had been found, he finally understood why the situation in Jensburg suddenly became so tense. He sulked and said, “I know you all are hiding things from me so I don’t get anxious, but I’ll still feel sad and guilty.“If only I drove slower and more carefully that day, I wouldn’t have gotten into an accident. If the accident didn’t happen, my legs wouldn’t get hurt. None of you will be keeping secrets from me now.”Zachary said, “It’s because many things happened over the past few days…”He did not finish his sentence. They had indeed hidden some information from Duncan after considering his injury. Duncan stayed silent for a moment. Then, he raised his head to look at Zachary and said, “I feel better with the elders around. It’s late, Zachary. Why haven’t you gone home?”Zachary replied honestly, “I haven’t updated Ser
Zachary had no words. They could do nothing but worry about Liberty.Meanwhile, in Jensburg, Belinda did not attack Liberty that very night. It was because Clive had arrived from Wiltspoon. Belinda had received the information swiftly. Mr. Gordon entered her study. No one knew what they were discussing inside. The night passed peacefully. It snowed heavily in Jensburg the next day. When Caroline woke up, the first thing she saw was the white ceiling. The smell of antiseptic overwhelmed her nose. She was not in her room. ‘Oh. Darren said he was taking me to the hospital.’She was most likely in the hospital then. What time was it?When her memories came flooding back, Caroline sat bolted upright. However, she got dizzy and fell back into the bed. What on earth was the drug her mother had given her?She managed to regain consciousness last night but felt extremely dizzy and weak. She fainted again shortly after. Caroline had no memory of Darren taking her to t
“It’s true. However, Mr. Gordon had met Madam Fisher several times. I don’t know what they are planning.”Darren pulled a chair over and sat by the bed. He tugged the blanket to cover Caroline further. “It’s snowing a lot today.”Caroline turned toward the window and saw falling snow, covering the ground in white. “You regained consciousness pretty quickly and told me to contact Liberty. She was able to make preparations and even had reinforcements sent in from Wiltspoon. Madam Fisher might’ve shifted her plan because the situation had changed.“You should focus on resting and not overthink. You’ve done everything you could.”What he meant to say was that Liberty would not blame her. Madam Fisher was Ms. Caroline’s biological mother. Nevertheless, Ms. Caroline had chosen justice instead of siding with her mother. She had done enough for Liberty and the rest. “Are you hungry? I’ll buy breakfast for you.”“I wasn’t hungry before, but I am now that you mention it.”Carolin
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