Austin was not stupid. He caught on right away. He said, “Zachary hid my information. That was why Isabella couldn’t get much out of her two investigations on me.”Tania asked, “Do we have to keep a secret for you when we go over?”Austin rejected her offer without hesitation. He answered, “You don’t have to hide or reveal my identity purposely. If she finds out, then so be it. It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t find out either. The cat will be out of the bag sooner or later anyway.”“Okay.”“You mentioned that there are important guests in the manor earlier.”Tania told Austin all about Doc and his fellow masters. Austin felt sad after Tania’s update. “It’s too bad I’m on a business trip with Isabella and can’t rush back. Please put in good words for me with the elders so they have a good impression of me.”Tania smiled. “They know my sons are outstanding. They know your grandparents too. Although they don’t have a close relationship with us and are old, they were willing to hav
“Let them be, then. They’ll only be able to enjoy themselves this much today.”The old-timers would be leaving Wiltspoon tomorrow. Doc would head to FC Manor to spend the holidays with his disciple, while Patrick would remain with the Stones. On the other hand, Silver and the rest would return to their homes. After being away from home for a few days, they still concluded that nothing could beat the comfort of home. They wanted to go back. Since the year was ending, their disciples would be rushing back from different places.Although the ancients were not as lucky as Grandma May, who had many children and grandchildren, they had many disciples. When all their disciples were gathered, the atmosphere in their house would get even livelier than it had been in Wildridge Manor. Tania got up and walked out of the house. She had to welcome Audrey. When she reached the door, she saw Audrey exiting the car. “Audrey,” Tania called out. Although they had not interacted much i
Audrey and Tania were seated in the living room. Audrey asked, “Is Sonny with Old Mrs. York now?”“Yes. He’s attached to her like an accessory now. She brings him along everywhere she goes.“Seren has gone back to the office today as well. She said she had some important matters to attend to. After everything is settled, she and Sonny will head to FC Manor with Doc tomorrow.”Suddenly, Tania looked around before whispering, “Did something happen in Jensburg, Audrey?”Audrey maintained her expression. “Where did that question come from?“What happened in Jensburg? I didn’t see anything in the news.”She tried acting clueless. Tania glared at her and said, “You can fool youngsters like Seren, Audrey, but you don’t have to hide anything from me. Although I’m not as capable as you are, I’m still in charge of the York family’s internal affairs. I have my connections.“I can obtain information on anything I want to know.“Although I didn’t look into it, I find it weird that Zack
Audrey could hear that Tania was being defensive. She was not criticizing Serenity. She simply stated that Serenity was still young and less experienced than Tania was. However, Tania immediately started defending Serenity. Audrey was glad that Serenity had such a protective and reasonable mother-in-law. When Audrey first joined the Stone family, her mother-in-law was dissatisfied with her and constantly picked on her. Those days had been tough. However, her husband treated her well, and her father-in-law was reasonable and took her side. Not only that, she showcased her capability through managing Stone Group and got pregnant shortly after her marriage. If those things did not happen, she would not have been able to endure being in the Stone family.Thinking back, Audrey suspected Darrell was eager to have a baby back then to bind her to him. He might have feared that she would request a divorce because she could not stand her mother-in-law being overcritical.Luckily, her mot
“Liberty is doing well and safe in Jensburg for now. I’ll be going over with Uncle True tomorrow.”Tania asked, “Are you two going to reveal the truth?”After a moment of silence, Audrey said, “Yes. It’s time to settle the score. Madam Fisher killed my parents and grandparents. She also killed Aunt Alivia. She should pay for her sins.“Regaining control of the Fisher family isn’t a necessity, but we must make her pay and be punished.”The moment she, Uncle True, and the old-timers arrived in Jensburg would be the start of Belinda’s downfall.Audrey would bring reporters with her. She would expose Belinda’s cruel and ungrateful side. Belinda could even kill the sister who had raised her. She deserved to die. “Didn’t the masters say they were leaving tomorrow?”Audrey replied, “They are. Aside from Doc, who’ll remain in FC Manor, the rest will detour to Jensburg.”They wanted to create a fake impression that the masters had left. Tania asked, “Are you confident you’ll win?”
However, Caroline had saved Liberty’s life. She bore the risk of betraying her mother and informed Liberty about Belinda’s plan, which allowed them to prepare and put their guard up against Belinda’s schemes.Audrey sighed internally. She had never expected things to escalate so quickly. She had hoped Liberty would establish herself in Jensburg first and gain a firm foothold before beginning to challenge Fisher Enterprise and gradually deal with Belinda to reclaim everything that rightfully belonged to them.“She, at least, hasn’t done anything illegal. I think God’s greatest gift to Belinda is a good daughter.”Regardless of whatever Belinda had done, Caroline was innocent. When Tiara met with tragedy, Belinda was still unmarried and naturally had no children. Therefore, Caroline had not known about it, much less involved. She was truly innocent, but because she was Belinda’s daughter, she had been forcefully dragged into the situation.The two madams chatted for a while and when
Tania wore a nonchalant look. “I don’t worry about them.”Audrey remarked, “You and your sisters-in-law have no need for worry. The daughters-in-law Old Mrs. York has picked for you lot are all excellent. I have to get her to pick one for my boy Anthony too.”“That’s very true.” Tania laughed. “My sisters-in-law and I are fortunate, marrying into the York family was simply a blessing. The only hard bit was the nine months of pregnancy. We didn’t even have to worry about caring for the child after they were born because my in-laws raised them so well.”“Tania, stop talking. If you keep this up, I might go crazy from envy.”Tania just laughed again.“I heard Austin went to Satbury to work as a chef. He’s already his own boss. Why go so far just to work as a chef?” Audrey asked curiously.Tania chuckled. “Didn’t I mention earlier that he already has a match too? His nana was the one who chose her. It’s the eldest daughter of the Satbury O’Connors. His nana’s judgment is excellent, b
A car stopped in front of the flower shop.Camryn, who was trimming a large potted plant, looked up at the car. It seemed to belong to Carrie. After Camryn regained her sight, Carrie came back and took her own car. Camryn remembered the license plate number.Carrie drove a BMW 7 Series. It had been a gift for her eighteenth birthday. Camryn recalled that Carrie had proudly flaunted the car keys to her, saying that Camryn would never own a car or be able to drive because Camryn was blind. Carrie’s boastful laughter from back then still echoed in Camryn’s ears whenever she thought about it.Now, Camryn had not just her own car, but several luxury cars. However, the fact remained that she still did not know how to drive. She had considered getting a driver’s license but could not find the time because she was busy with work and wedding preparations. After Christmas, she planned to review her high school subjects and retake her senior year later in the year before taking the university
Lilian often messed with the medicinal herbs her master cultivated, which led to her being chased and scolded by him.It seemed her son had inherited her restless nature.“How’s Sonny been lately?”Liberty had been on edge these past few days because Caroline had been preparing to lure her three brothers into a trap and had not had time to call her son.“Same as usual, but it seems like things have soured again with the Browns.”Serenity added, “Sonny still answers when Hank calls him, but he doesn’t seem happy when his grandparents visit. He doesn’t like going to the Browns’ place, and he doesn’t want to take their calls either.“Hank’s mother and sister are truly incorrigible. They must have been badmouthing you and Duncan in front of Sonny again, which is why he’s upset with them.”During the holidays, Sonny had stayed with the Browns for a few days and started to warm up to them.However, who would have thought that the mother and daughter would start spouting nonsense in f
Once the baby was born, he would apply the knowledge he had learned over the past few months to care for the baby. He was determined to be a competent and responsible father.Serenity released her arms from around him and shifted to her side.Zachary let go, too, allowing her to turn.Then, she planted countless gentle kisses on his face.“Babe, with you here, the baby and I will be just fine. Don’t worry too much,” Serenity comforted softly after kissing him.“You are my rock. If even you are nervous, I’ll start feeling anxious too, and that won’t be good.”Hearing this, Zachary immediately said, “Seren, don’t worry. I’ll protect both of you. Alright, I won’t be so nervous anymore.”He gently touched her rounded belly again. “Lil’ Bun should be a calm kid. He’s not that mischievous.”He felt that the baby’s movements were not too intense.Serenity wanted to tell him that there were times when the baby kicked more vigorously, but she decided against it, knowing it would only m
“Just hit the gym a few more times. Lately, you’ve been spending less time there.”Every day after work, he would come home and orbit around her. As a result, he had less time to work out.It was normal to gain a few pounds eating well and exercising less. Did he really think he could eat anything without gaining weight?The reason he could maintain a model-like physique before was that he exercised daily.“Ow.” Serenity suddenly cried out in pain.This startled Zachary so much that he nearly jumped up, asking anxiously, “Is it stomach pain? Are you going into labor? Let’s go to the hospital right away.”He was about to pick her up, but Serenity stopped him by pressing his hand.“Don’t be so nervous, Zachary. It's not time yet. It’s not happening so soon. It’s just the baby kicking again. His kicks are getting stronger.”As she entered the later stages of pregnancy, the little one inside her was growing stronger. Sometimes, a couple of kicks from the baby could actually hurt.
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