With tears running down Mrs. Stone’s face, Serenity handed her a tissue and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Stone.” “Serenity.” Mrs. Stone held her hands, choking in sobs. “I’m sorry about your childhood. I didn’t find you quick enough. Maybe your mom wouldn’t have died if I tracked you down sooner.” Had her sister been located sooner, Mrs. Stone would have brought her to live in the city. Then, her sister would never have lost her life, together with her husband, in a tragic car accident in the little town. Although the DNA test had not been done, Serenity felt a lump in her throat and her eyes welling up after listening to what Mrs. Stone had to say. It would be great if her mom was still alive. “Stop crying, Mom. Dad told me to keep an eye on you and not to let you cry. You had been crying all day yesterday.”Elisa took the tissue from Serenity and patted her mother’s tears dry while consoling her, “Mom, you can take the DNA test with Serenity. If it comes back po
While on the way to the DNA testing center, Serenity received a wired transfer from Zachary for fifty thousand dollars. Afraid that she might not accept the money, Zachary included a text message to her. “Seren, I’ll take it as you don’t see me as your husband if you don’t accept the money. The husband is supposed to make money for the wife to spend.” Serenity read the text message and had a big smile on her face. Zachary had learned to guilt her into accepting things. She was not in a hurry to accept the transaction. Once at the DNA testing center, she waited until Mrs. Stone’s and her blood were drawn before accepting the fifty thousand dollars. With the money her husband gave, Serenity generously took Mrs. Stone and her daughter to have lunch at a five-star hotel. The five-star hotel Serenity was most familiar with in all of Wiltspoon was the Wiltspoon Hotel. The Wiltspoon Hotel was a hotel under York Corporation’s flagship. The Yorks and the Stones were not on good
“Alright. I got it. Carry on with your work.” Catching up to the group, Callum approached his cousin and said, “Zack, Mr. Zen told me that he saw your wife with Mrs. Stone and Miss Stone a few minutes ago. They picked the supreme lounge for lunch.” The lounge was the most exclusive private dining room at the Wiltspoon Hotel. Those with thin wallets would not pick the supreme lounge to dine in. Nevertheless, Serenity had to pick the supreme lounge to wine and dine with Mrs. Stone. “Got it.” Zachary was not at all surprised by the news. “We won’t run into each other,” Zachary commented in a husky voice. He would normally take the clients to the presidential suite on the top floor which was on a different floor from the supreme lounge. Zachary had a private lift that was not available to hotel guests unless he brought them in himself. There was no chance for the couple to meet unless it was at the lift. Callum kept his mouth shut, seeing that his cousin was confident.
“Do you think we’d turn out fine if Serenity’s husband was related to the wealthiest Yorks? Your sister-in-law would’ve trampled all over us with the help of Mr. York.” Thinking about the bad things he had done, Hank believed Jessica had a point. Hence, he quickly let go of the matter. Mr. York was way up there while Serenity was not even worth the mention. She was not blessed in life to become Mr. York’s wife. The pair were lovey-dovey as they walked out of the hotel. Hank and Jessica came across Liberty at the hotel entrance. Liberty was alone. While Sonny was asleep, Liberty left Mrs. Lane at home to look after Sonny, so she could wait for Hank and Jessica here. Liberty only lay in wait here for them because she deduced through the information and evidence provided by Zachary that Hank often brought Jessica to dine at the Wiltspoon Hotel. Although she had a falling out with Hank, it still hurt Liberty badly. After tying the knot with Hank, Liberty gave him a son, ran
Jessica gave Hank a tug and asked, “What does the fat cow want to talk to us about?” “She didn’t agree to my terms of the divorce. I guess it’s probably to further talk about the divorce.” The divorce proceedings would take some time. Liberty probably did not want to wait for another second after what happened to Sonny. Hank took Jessica to his car. Once they got into the car, Hank leaned over and heartbrokenly caressed Jessica’s face. “Does it hurt?” “What about you?” Hank felt his own cheek. “It hurts, but the thing with Sonny got her riled up. I can take a slap from her so she could let off steam.” Jessica touched where she was slapped and said, “Hank, since she’s in a rush to finalize the divorce, the odds are in your favor to name your terms. It’d be best if she gets nothing.“Let her go to court to file for divorce if she’s not willing to accept your terms. We have the time and money to drag this out.” Hank answered, “Sure. Let’s go see what she wants to talk abo
Liberty said, “It’s none of your business where I got these, Hank. If I showed your boss all the commissions you’ve been taking, do you think you can still be a manager at Waltham Electronics?”Serenity reminded Liberty not to show Hank the evidence but to scare him verbally.Liberty knew Hank well enough and felt that Hank would not feel threatened if there was no evidence. So, she made a copy of the evidence that Zachary’s friend had collected.Even if Hank tore it up, she could still make a lot of copies.With such evidence, Hank was willing to give in and discuss the divorce terms with Liberty just so he could keep his job.Liberty had no idea that Zachary had instructed Josh to suppress Waltham Electronics and what awaited Hank and Jessica was an employee termination letter.Hank’s expression was extremely distressed as he stared at Liberty.Liberty used to work at Waltham Electronics as a finance director. At that time, she was more capable than Hank and he could not admit
However, her beauty faded as she gained weight.Hank was responsible for Liberty's deterioration.“Liberty, what do you want?” Hank softened his tone and asked.“Give me the original copy of this evidence and I’ll try to meet your request as best as I can. Then, we can part on good terms.”Now, Hank had nearly two million dollars in savings.If he did not talk it out with Liberty, she would sue him, and the evidence she had was to her advantage. Hank was at a disadvantage, and the court would most likely force him to share half of his assets with Liberty.If Liberty handed over the evidence of Hank accepting commissions to Hank’s boss, Hank would not be able to keep his managerial position even if his boss did not fire him.Besides, Hank received commissions from his customers and helped them do things that cost the company losses. If his boss investigated him and found out about this, Hank would not be able to keep his job.His boss might even spread the word about his behavio
After a long silence, Hank said, “Liberty, if I agree to your condition of dividing the property, will you really give me all the evidence you have and promise not to report me to my boss?”“As long as I get what I deserve, I promise that I won’t take any revenge against you.”However, Liberty could not guarantee that Serenity or Zachary would not do anything.After pondering for a while, Hank said, “I can give you the money, but can’t give you Sonny’s custody. Sonny is my flesh and blood, and my parents love Sonny.”“I won’t give up on Sonny’s custody.”Hank was afraid that if he gave Liberty the custody of Sonny, his parents would kill him when he returned home.Besides, Sonny was his son and his only child at present, so he was reluctant to give up Sonny.Liberty raised her hand and splashed her unfinished juice on Hank’s face.“Hank, how do you still have the nerve to fight for Sonny’s custody? How dare you claim Sonny as your flesh and blood and your parents’ grandson. Jus
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