Although Hunter said that, he knew only Caroline possessed the cruelty all the Fisher matriarchs had. Belinda was biased toward Caroline in the later stages because she realized Caroline was the only one who had the competence and ruthlessness of the eldest daughter. Unfortunately, the daughter whom she loved and wanted to protect did not share the same goals as she did. Sometimes, Hunter would think, ‘If the butler hadn’t switched our daughters and Caroline had grown up in the Fisher family, would she have been capable enough to hold her own against the powerful families of Wiltspoon?’One thing was for sure—even if Caroline could not go up against them, she would not be treating her parents and brothers like how she was now. “That Fletcher guy is unpredictable. We don’t know how capable he is,” said Justin. Jason said, “No matter how capable he is, he’s alone. Everyone has weaknesses. We can definitely think of a way to tackle him. Even if we can’t eliminate him, I still h
Caroline’s cheeks were red. She told Liberty, “I really hate these parties.”“I don’t like them either, but it can’t be helped.”Even if they chose not to take over as matriarch, they still had their businesses; attending events was inevitable. Caroline patted Liberty’s shoulder. She smiled. “I won’t be doing these with you in the future. Everyone puts on a facade and speaks without sincerity. I hate these pretentious events the most.”“I won’t let your hopes down,” said Liberty. Darren brought two cups of honey water. He passed the cups to Caroline and Liberty and said, “Drink some honey water. It’ll make you two feel better.”“I’m not drunk.”Caroline muttered, yet she still accepted the cup. “Your face is already red from drinking. You’re drunk, just not knocked out.”Liberty also felt slightly drunk but still alert, like Caroline. She could still reason. Since they had drunk alcohol, they became more talkative and kept chatting. “Darren.”After finishing the ho
Darren was worried. “It’s too dangerous, Ms. Caroline. You don’t know how to fight. What if…”He could not bear the consequences of Caroline being harmed. Although Caroline would not be the matriarch, he was already assigned to her and considered on active duty by the training center. His responsibility was to protect Caroline and do her bidding.If something were to happen to her, it would be on him. The training center would hold him accountable because he would tarnish the center’s reputation. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Besides, you’ll be protecting me secretly. I trust you, Darren. I believe in myself too.”Caroline reassured him. “Although I’ve not learned self-defense, I did get into fights with other people throughout my younger days. I’m experienced in fighting.”After thinking about it, Liberty asked, “Do you really want to do this, Caroline? Your brothers don’t even treat you as their sister. You don’t have to put yourself at risk for them.“They might be going afte
“My brothers think I’m the cause of my family’s downfall. They never had any brotherly love for me to begin with and are desperate to eliminate me now. Between the two of us, I’ll be their final target.“While they can’t get any of the family’s items after killing me, they’ll be able to inherit my mom’s private assets.”Caroline sneered. “I’m going to make a will. If something happens to me, everything I own will be split into three portions. A portion goes to Darren, the other will be yours, and the remaining will be donated.”“Caroline!”“Ms. Caroline!”Liberty and Darren exclaimed at the same time. Liberty said sternly, “Don’t say such disheartening words. I don’t want your assets. You can leave them for your kids in the future.”Darren chimed in. “I’ll always be with you no matter where you go, Ms. Caroline. I’ll continue breathing as long as you’re alive. If something happens to you, I shall also leave this world.”He would stay with her, whether alive or dead. Caroline
“Without Mom and Fisher Enterprise as their safety nets, they’ll be cautious about investments. It’ll take time. What I want is to end this as soon as possible.”Caroline said, “Just do as I say. It’s the simplest and quickest method.”She could not be bothered to trick the Clark brothers into committing a financial crime. Their intelligence, or lack thereof, was not worth her trouble. Since they wanted to kill her, she would give them a chance to do so. If she did not die, they would be the ones in trouble. When Belinda was alive, she told Caroline not to show mercy if her brothers were disobedient and troublesome. Belinda also said she could never bring herself to harm her sons. At that time, Caroline thought Belinda was truly cruel. Well, she was not wrong. Her mother could even kill her biological sisters. Belinda had always prioritized the Fisher family. She would not spare anyone who would negatively affect Fisher Enterprise, not even her own sons. Upon recallin
Serenity said, “Our mom lived in that manor when she was young. Maybe she’ll visit you in your dreams when you sleep. If she were alive, she would’ve been happy that you moved into the manor and inherited her mother’s legacy.”Serenity wished to go to Jensburg and live in Fisher Manor for a short period because it was where their mother was born and lived for several years. The position of matriarch was passed from Tiara to Liberty, skipping Audrey and their mother. Upon hearing Serenity’s words, Liberty replied, “Mom probably doesn’t remember the way home.”Her voice was filled with regret.Lisa had passed away at a young age. She was unable to find Audrey, let alone her biological parents’ house. She probably did not remember a thing.Serenity sent another voice message, saying, “Mom will be able to find the way since you’re there. Zachary had accompanied me to visit our parents’ graves. I told them you had gone to Jensburg to work and would take on the Fisher surname. I aske
“If they can’t change their habits, they shouldn’t affect Sonny and ruin his relationship with Duncan.”Sonny would be living with Liberty and Duncan in the future. It would be terrible if he came to dislike his stepfather due to the Brown family’s influence. Serenity replied, “Sonny’s smart. The Browns won’t easily influence him. We raised him ourselves. The only way it’ll happen is if the Browns’ genetics are stronger than yours.”She knew her nephew was intelligent despite his age and he knew how to differentiate between good and evil.The Brown family would not be a bad influence on Sonny unless he inherited their personality from Hank. “Try to prevent Sonny from staying with the Browns as much as possible. We both know Mr. and Mrs. Brown’s characters. There’s no telling whether they’ll change Sonny or not.“Once this semester ends, Sonny will be transferred to a preschool in Jensburg. We won’t have to be as worried as he’ll be away from the Browns and can only communicate
Serenity looked at her bump and touched it. She sighed. “I haven’t been able to go anywhere after getting pregnant.“Okay. I’ll listen to you. I’ll have Zachary go over to record videos for me.”Serenity compromised. She did not want to worry her sister. She stopped insisting on heading to Jensburg to congratulate Liberty. “Sleep, Seren. Duncan’s calling me.”Liberty sent another voice message, saying, “Don’t reply to my message. I’ll continue fighting with this bed after talking to Duncan.”Serenity replied with a thumbs-up emoji and stopped sending messages.“Who are you talking to this late instead of sleeping?”A gentle voice was heard. Zachary was behind Serenity, draping a jacket over her shoulders. “It’s chilly at dawn, and you’re not wearing a jacket. What if you catch a cold?” Zachary scolded softly. Serenity pulled the jacket closer and said, “My pajamas are thick, and it isn’t cold in the room. My sister has moved into Fisher Manor. She said she couldn’t slee
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