After the divorce, her life went on an upward trajectory.Hank’s, on the other hand, went on a downward spiral, although that was due to Zachary. He had orchestrated Hank’s downfall behind the scenes, causing him to lose his job. No other employer dared to hire him either.Initially, Hank hoped to join Stone Group, as the Stones and the Yorks were sworn rivals.He thought that if he could make a name for himself within Stone Group, he could wield its influence to take revenge on Zachary.However, who could have expected that Audrey Stone was actually Liberty and Serenity’s biological aunt?Audrey had spent decades searching for her sister, only to find just her two nieces in the end. She doted on them as if they were her own daughters.Elisa and Serenity, who could have been considered love rivals, unexpectedly became close friends. Instead of fighting, they became as close as sisters, and Elisa even gave up on Zachary, whom she had admired for years.Now, she had found her own
Serenity shouted from the stairs, “Sonny, your mom’s on the phone.”Sonny was concentrating on his game of chess with Liam. Naturally, he was not as good as Grandpa Liam. He lost most of the time, aside from the few games Grandpa Liam let him win. However, even if Sonny always ended up losing, he was determined. Liam realized Sonny would change his strategy after every loss. He would learn from his mistakes and even emulate Liam’s playstyle. Sonny had a versatile mind. He was clever. Liam thought, ‘Maybe this is why our family loves Sonny.’Sonny was intelligent, studious, and thoughtful. Serenity was about to give birth. If Liam’s grandson would be as adorable as Sonny, he would not mind having a few more. “Let’s pause this round for now, Grandpa Liam. We can continue after I talk to Mom on the phone.”Liam smiled. “You should go to bed soon, Sonny. You still have to go to school tomorrow. We can leave this here and continue tomorrow evening. I promise not to move the
Sonny himself needed taking care of. Duncan said, “Summer vacation, then. Since it’s a long holiday, you can be in Jensburg for two months.“Once you graduate from preschool and come over to Jensburg for elementary school, you’ll be able to see your mom every day. I’ll also move my business to Jensburg. That way, the three of us can reunite as a family.”While Lewis & Co. had businesses in Jensburg, there were not many. Since Liberty would be living in Jensburg permanently, Duncan increased his investments there to expand into a new market. Therefore, he had to be in Jensburg as the CEO. It also presented him with the opportunity to accompany Liberty and Sonny there. Sonny pouted. “Okay.“Mom, you haven’t answered my questions.”Sonny turned his attention back to Liberty. Liberty smiled. “I’m not as busy tonight, so I don’t have to work till late. I’m on my way home now. I called you because I knew you’d be going to bed soon.“Do you miss me, Sonny? I miss you so much.”“
Liberty and Sonny had a lot to share with each other. Meanwhile, Caroline had not gone home yet. She told Liberty she was going home after they separated but ended up going shopping instead. It was still early. There were too many cars on the road. Even a fool would not choose that time to make a move. To play along with her brothers’ scheme, she had to go shopping and only head home late at night. That would make it easier for Adrian and his brothers to take action. Darren sent Caroline a message to tell her that the Dott brothers and Clark brothers were waiting to ambush her when she was on her way back. When she approached them, they would hit her car with theirs. Her dying on the spot would be the best-case scenario. If she did not die, they would kidnap her. Adrian was already waiting in a deserted place by the sea. They planned to chop her up and throw her body into the sea. The fish in the sea would eat her up. The Clark brothers were cruel. Caroline wa
Since it would be a sleepless night, drinking some coffee could help them stay awake. At eleven o’clock, Caroline and her bodyguards left the cafe. She sensed some people had been following her the entire night. The bodyguards had also noticed it, but Caroline prevented them from alarming those people and let them continue following her. It would be none other than Adrian’s people anyway. Adrian, Justin, and Jason had finished their tasks early and got off work on time. They had the entire night to themselves as they did not have to work or attend events. After Caroline got in her car, she suddenly received a call from Emma. She picked up the call. “Hi, Emma.”“You can call me comfortably, Carol. I’m not your sister-in-law anymore.”Caroline immediately switched to Emma’s nickname. “Why aren’t you asleep but calling me at this hour, Em? I hope my nieces and nephews are obedient. Now that the school term has started, you should be able to relax when they’re at school
“They’re my biological brothers and father, Em. Although they had attacked me with their words before, they never hurt me physically.“It’s okay. I have bodyguards with me.”Caroline was letting Emma know that she would still be heading home. After sighing, Emma said, “Be careful. Call the police if something feels off. We didn’t treat you well in the past, Carol, but I saw through your family and came to a realization.“You helped me a lot, and you’re the aunt of my children. I wish you well.”Caroline knew Emma was genuinely concerned about her. Ever since she exposed her brothers’ affairs and took her sisters-in-law’s side, her sisters-in-law, especially Emma, have changed their attitudes toward her. When Adrian and Emma were fighting on the verge of divorcing, Caroline stood by Emma unwaveringly. She had also assisted Emma in many instances. Although Emma had left the Fisher family, she would always be Caroline's sister-in-law. “I will be careful and live well, Em.
The bodyguard in the passenger seat turned and informed Caroline. Caroline remained calm. She said, “Speed up and let them chase us. The road ahead has many curves. A truck will turn over if it goes too fast.”The people in the truck were probably her brothers from the Dott family. She wondered how much money Adrian had given them. Were they planning to drive the truck to chase her and create an accident?Caroline’s driver immediately acted on her orders. The truck behind them accelerated as well. Soon, they arrived at the section of the road with many curves and downhills.Accidents could happen easily if a car drove too quickly at a curve. The truck driver was not ready to give up his life. He decelerated when he saw the curved road ahead. By the time the truck turned, Caroline’s car was gone. The truck driver immediately stepped on the brake. He stopped by the roadside and made a call. He was not one of the Dott brothers but someone else they hired. The driver c
“Ms. Caroline.”The bodyguards looked toward Caroline. Caroline opened her eyes and said calmly, “Stop the car, but don’t get out. Only get out when the situation gets out of hand. Remember to protect yourselves.”“Ms. Caroline…”“I’ll keep myself safe. Don’t worry. I treasure my life. There’s still a long life ahead of me. I haven’t even started enjoying good days. I won’t want to die.”Caroline chuckled, but her smile did not reach her eyes. There was sorrow in those eyes. In the end, she and her brothers could not coexist. It made her realize how bad her luck was with families. She was switched at birth and mistreated by her adoptive family. She thought her biological parents would treat her well after returning to them, but it turned out to be the opposite. Caroline had many family members, yet somehow, she was still alone. The people who truly cared about her were Darren, Liberty, and some others. Caroline’s bodyguards knew she had been waiting for that moment.
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