“Ignore it. She can bring whoever she wants. I’m not afraid.”Belinda added coldly, “She just wants to tarnish my name. However, other people have been discussing me behind my back for decades. Do I even have a reputation left?”Two years ago, the revelation of Caroline and Celine’s switch at birth had made her and the Fisher family the laughingstock of Jensburg. Thinking closely, Belinda felt her reputation was already down the drain. Since that was the case, she did not care if someone sullied her name further. They did not have evidence anyway. She could simply deny everything. Belinda would kill them all that very night. Adrian nodded. The Clark brothers exchanged glances. Just like Hunter, they thought their mother was confident in succeeding. “Belinda, Belinda.”Hunter suddenly ran in while yelling. Belinda frowned. She glared at him and scolded, “Why do you still get so panicked when you’re already in your seventies?”Hunter pointed at Caroline, then outsid
There would be hope as long as Caroline lived. If Caroline was safe, Belinda’s bloodline could continue being in charge of the Fisher family. Belinda’s body swayed. Hunter pointed at Caroline, who was walking over, and told his wife, “Look! Isn’t that our daughter? The person behind her is Mr. Fletcher, the assistant you assigned to her.“The one inside the house is a fake. She doesn’t have Mr. Fletcher with her. I thought it was weird that I hadn’t seen him today.”It turned out the Caroline he had been seeing all day was an imposter. Even he was deceived. That imposter looked precisely like the real thing. As Caroline’s father, he did not even realize his daughter was fake. “Mom.”Caroline walked up the stairs and stood before Belinda. She said, “I’ve told you I’m your daughter. I’ll brave every hardship with you. No matter the outcome, I’ll stay by your side.“Stop thinking about how to send me away. I won’t go. The word ‘escape’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary.”B
Upon hearing the butler’s words, Caroline turned and walked toward the manor’s gates. Darren naturally followed her. Hunter suddenly found his daughter’s walk confident and dominating. Although the substitute looked like her, she was not as commanding as Caroline was in her strides. He was frustrated that he did not realize the Caroline in the house was a fake. If he had known that his wife was going for a plan that involved her death, he would have asked his sons to leave. If they were to leave at that moment…Caroline had told them to leave if they were scared. After waiting for Caroline and the butler to walk away, Hunter told the Clark brothers, “You must know by now that your mom is only protecting Caroline. She doesn’t care about your lives at all.“I’m the only one who truly cares for you three. I’ve told you to take cover in my hometown for the time being or not attend tonight’s banquet, but none of you heeded my advice.“You guys can’t even leave now. What will
Audrey and the rest exited their cars when Caroline appeared. As Patrick was old, he was slow to get off. Zachary and Clive stood by Patrick’s car door. When he opened the door, the two CEOs bent over to help him.“Be careful, Mr. Patrick. There’s no need to rush. Take it slow.”They did not have much sentiment toward Fisher Manor. To them, it was merely the house Belinda lived in. However, to Patrick, Fisher Manor was filled with memories. It was the place Tiara had lived all her life. Tiara was born and raised in Fisher Manor before she eventually became the head of the family and managed the manor. Although Patrick had never lived here throughout his decades of service, he was a frequent visitor. It felt as if he was returning home that day. “You don’t have to support me. I can help myself. I won’t rush.”Despite saying so, Patrick was excited. His limbs were trembling. However, it was due to his old age and not out of excitement, which was a common occurrence among
Patrick smiled. “I’ll try my best. I want to witness the birth of Seren’s baby and Elisa getting married and having children. I only had one wish in the past. I guess I’ve gotten greedy now.”After returning to Audrey’s side, he realized that the little girl he used to carry had grown old and was about to become a grandmother. He had also gotten to know many youngsters who respected him. If Patrick could continue living for a few more years and watch Tiara’s descendants lead a happy life, he could tell Tiara all about them once he met her in the afterlife.Darrell and Audrey stepped forward to take Zachary and Clive’s place. They stood beside the old man and helped him as he walked. The legendary masters were right behind them, followed by the younger ones. “Good evening, Audrey.”Caroline went over with Darren and Elaine. She greeted Audrey with a smile. Audrey and her group stopped. Patrick looked toward Caroline, who was also looking back at him. She smiled and sa
Looking at Caroline’s gaze, it was evident that she was not as evil as Belinda. Belinda had been blessed with a good child. Since she did not raise her daughter, Caroline’s personality and principles were entirely different. If Belinda had raised Caroline, she probably might not have been alive. “Thank you, Mr. Foster,” said Caroline happily. Then, she greeted the people she knew and nodded at unfamiliar faces. Audrey did not look like she was going to introduce the rest of her group to Caroline. Caroline did not mind. Those people were probably Mr. Foster’s friends. Darren had told her that Belinda had sent assassins after Mr. Foster back then. With her mother’s brutality, he would have been long dead if someone had not rescued him.Mr. Foster had probably lived in seclusion after getting rescued, hence the lack of information on him for decades. Belinda thought he was dead after being unable to obtain any news about him for so many years. To her surprise, not only was he
“Nice to meet you, cousin.”The Clark brothers greeted Audrey. She only glanced at them briefly. Patrick guessed they were Belinda’s sons. He simply observed them and said nothing.Adrian, Justin, and Jason were not angry or surprised by the cold reception. After all, their statuses in Jensburg were awkward.They could not call themselves young masters of the Fishers because their last name was Clark. However, being part of the Clarks was nothing to be proud of. If the Clark family were strong, their father would not have married into the Fisher family. Everything the Clarks enjoyed was the benefits obtained from the Fishers. In other words, Hunter had gained those benefits by enduring the humiliation and faking smiles throughout his time with Belinda. Adrian and his brothers followed the crowd from behind after they had walked past them.Soon, Elaine came out again. She ushered the reporters into the manor grounds. However, they were not allowed to enter the main h
Zachary said, “Don’t worry.”Liberty exchanged glances with him. She also saw Clive's gaze and nodded. Audrey chatted with the Fisher family members and introduced her fellow visitors, especially Liberty.They smiled. “We know Liberty very well.”Liberty smiled back.The Fishers were aware of her actions in Jensburg. Some of them even secretly expressed their interest in joining her side. “Since everyone’s here, why don’t we head inside? It’s a little cold out here.”Belinda’s voice rang. She and Hunter had been waiting for Audrey and the rest in the house. However, they did not come. After asking, they learned that Audrey and her group had been strolling in the garden. They even said they were afraid of her burying bombs or dousing the house with gasoline. They also mentioned it was safer and easier to escape if they were in the garden. Belinda was exasperated. She did think of burying bombs. However, Mr. Gordon said they could get caught easily if they used bom
Austin asked Isabella gently.She hummed mildly before saying, “It’s slightly better than the first time you made them, but there’s still room for improvement.”“Thank you, Ms. Isabella.”She did not mention the problem and instead said there was still room for improvement. It was clear she did not want him to get too proud of himself. In reality, she was quite satisfied with the pastries he made today.Isabella turned to the little ones. “Louis, Phillip, go back with Austin. Don’t wait for me for dinner tonight. Just ask Austin to make you whatever you want to eat.”The little boys did not really want to go home, but in front of their serious big sister, they did not dare to insist on staying and obediently followed Austin out of the office. As soon as they left the office, the boys pulled their scarves tightly over their faces, hiding themselves completely, leaving only their big, bright eyes visible.The secretary had already guessed their identities. Although she could not se
“Phillip, if you want to eat anything, just tell me. I can have Austin make it for you.”Isabella opened the box of pastries and placed it in the center of the table so Tati could try some as well. She remembered that Tati loved the pastries Austin made. As for Louis calling Austin her personal chef, Isabella did not correct him, because it was the truth. The family benefited from her picky taste and had the privilege of enjoying all sorts of delicious food. She often changed chefs, and every chef she hired was a top expert in the industry. As others put it, even the simplest omelet prepared by a chef from the O'Connor family tasted better than those cooked by others.“I want to eat everything! I love all the dishes Austin makes, and I also love buns and pastries.”“Isa, I want ravioli. Can Austin make us ravioli this time?” Not wanting to be left out, Louis made a request of his own after Phillip made one.Austin laughed. “No problem. This Saturday, I’ll make ravioli for you. I’
Isabella looked at him, and the two of them locked eyes for a moment. Then Isabella asked, “You’re trained in self-defense?”“I am. I trained for more than ten years. My nana is a wise and capable matriarch. She’s the one who raised us to be well-rounded, both in academics and self-defense.”Isabella recalled that she had asked someone to investigate Austin’s background. She had only done a brief inquiry into his family situation, mainly to learn more about him as a person, so she did not know much about his family. She knew he had a large family with many members, and they all lived in the large ancestral home passed down through generations. Oh, right—these were things Austin had briefly mentioned himself. As for what his family was like, he had not said much, and she had not investigated further. After all, she was not looking to marry him, so there was no need to delve into his family tree like she was tracing a genealogy. As long as she knew he came from a respectable family
Isabella said, “If Louis wants to climb up to the roof to take off its tiles, my mom would even go as far as to give him a ladder to climb up there. You don’t know the situation, so I don’t blame you, but when we get back, I’ll have a good talk with my mom.”Louis and his brother exchanged glances, wondering if they had caused trouble.“Isa, since they’re already here, just let them play in your office. They’re probably going stir-crazy at home.” Seeing that her baby brother and cousin looked scared that they had caused trouble, Tati could not help but feel sorry for them and spoke up in their defense. “They’re kids, after all—they love to play.”Austin also added, “It’s winter break right now. Most other kids are out playing already, and they’re stuck at home. Even though the house is big, they’ll eventually get bored playing indoors.”Just like when he and his brothers were younger, they had a children’s playground at home too. In fact, they lived on a manor estate on the hill an
Austin immediately regretted bringing the boys with him. He tried his hardest to recall whether anyone had seen their faces when they left; at least, he did not think anyone had.The two boys were still young and had sat in the backseat of the car. He had driven a black Mercedes, and as long as the duo had not rolled down the windows, no one could see them as the car sped along. After entering the Costa Corporation building, there were no other people around from the moment they got out of the car to the time they entered the office building. It was only when Austin was sure that no one had caught a clear shot of them that he finally relaxed. He told himself that, no matter how much they begged him in the future, he would not thoughtlessly take them out again.Before his own brothers entered society, they had been carefully protected by the family, and it was very difficult for the outside world to capture clear photos of them too. When they were old enough to step into the busines
“Has your sister ever hit you?”Austin freed a hand to adjust Louis's hat and scarf. He also tugged at Phillip, gesturing for the little boy to follow in his older cousin’s footsteps. The cold wind was howling, and he feared these two little ones might be blown away by the strong gusts. The two little boys replied in unison, “She has hit us, but it’s really rare. She really loves and cares about us.” “She only hits us when we make a really big mistake,” Louis added, afraid that Austin might think Isabella was a bad person. He quickly said, “She does it for our own good.”Austin laughed. “I really didn’t expect that someone as well-mannered as your sister would actually raise a hand on you. It shows just how big a mess you two must have made.”Austin thought this was good. It was necessary for the two boys to have someone they feared. Otherwise, if they were spoiled too much, they would become unruly, and as they grew older, the messes they made would only get bigger, which wou
While Carrie was being scolded by Mr. Longbottom, Austin was delivering afternoon tea to Isabella.She had social engagements later that evening, so she would not be home for dinner. Given her picky eating habits, she likely would not have anything but drinks during the event, and Austin was worried that she would get drunk drinking on an empty stomach. He knew she could hold her liquor and no one would dare force her to drink, but even half a glass of wine on an empty stomach could upset it. Thus, he specially prepared some snacks to bring to her. They were freshly made and still warm.Also accompanying him were the O'Connor boys. After Austin parked the car, he got out holding the box of snacks. The boys unbuckled their seatbelts and got out of the car as well. Phillip had been sitting in the backseat, and when he closed the door, he did not push hard enough, leaving it slightly ajar. Austin reminded him to close it properly and Louis turned to help Phillip close the door. Then,
From then on, Mr. Longbottom no longer had to worry that his current efforts and sacrifices were all for someone else’s benefit. He could legitimately become the true head, gaining absolute authority in the Longbottom family and Longbottom Corporation, without being held back by others.“I wasn’t telling you to complete the task before Christmas. I was reminding you to step up your efforts and work harder. Stop constantly stirring up trouble for your sister,” Mr. Longbottom criticized. “Your current targets are Serenity Hunt and Sonny Brown, not Camryn Newman.”He added mercilessly, “No matter how you act out, you can’t compete with her. That’s a fact. Apart from being a few years younger than her, you really don’t have anything to compare. You can’t measure up to your younger brother, let alone your sister.”Among the three children of the Newman family, the most useless was Carrie. Of course, her being the most useless was exactly why he could use him. Camryn and Trenton were not
The O’Connor ladies were not like usual girls. Pestering them was useless. It would make Mr. Longbottom look cheap as well. After all, he was the temporary head of the Longbottom family. What woman could he not have for himself?Among his past lovers, there were also ice queens like Isabella. He still managed to charm them with some effort. Once they became his woman, they would soften and revere him. When he abandoned them, they would wail and cling to him, unwilling to leave. Of course, ten of those lovers could not even compare to Isabella. When Mr. Longbottom’s car was leaving, it passed by a black Mercedes-Benz in the opposite direction.Mr. Longbottom turned to look. He saw the security of Costa Corporation on duty opening the gates immediately upon spotting the black Benz. It only had to slow down before entering the compound.‘Maybe that’s one of Costa Corporation’s senior managers,’ he thought. He turned his head back and leaned against the seat. After some thin