Gerald looked at her calmly. โSure.โReina became emotional. โSoโฆโโYour claim that the coach tried to take advantage of you is just that, a claim. I wonโt jump to any conclusions until I find him.โGerald walked to the edge of the crowd and took Northโs hand. โLetโs go.โMs. Hertz yelled, โMr. Howard, wait! We havenโt proven that Mrs. Howard had nothing to do with it yet. She canโt leave!โReina acted like she was trying to sweep everything under the rug. โMs. HertzโฆโMs. Hertz whirled around. โI know you trust North, Reina. But thereโs a clear conflict of your interests, no matter what you say. Thereโs no telling what sheโd do to you to secure the inheritance rights for Myers Corporation. You may lack the heart to harm others, but you canโt abandon your vigilance against others too!โNathan almost laughed at the sight. How exactly did Reina lack the heart to harm others? She had harmed so many people countless times!At that moment, Ms. Hertzโs phone rang and she picked it up
โShe saidโฆ She said that if Ms. Reina dared frame her, she should have been prepared to die as a result. Itโs true! I wasnโt even at the resort this morning, so I had no idea what happened in that restaurant. Ms. North was the one who told me everything!โEveryone looked at each other.โThat coach did actually arrive after breakfast timeโฆโโDoes that mean someone told him about what happened, then?โโI think it may actually be Mrs. Howard. After all, she was unfairly accused of being a mistress this morning and slapped. Itโs only natural that she wants revenge.โโBut this is too much! Ms. Reina had no idea what really happened, and it wasnโt like Ms. North would die if she got yelled at. But she got this man to assault Ms. Reina and even push her into a snow pit.โWhat if she had frozen to death before Mr. Howard found her? No matter how mad she is, she canโt just endanger someoneโs life!โMs. Hertzโs gaze started shifting again. โWhat do you have to say for yourself, Mrs. Howar
There was no sign of turmoil at all in Geraldโs clear gaze. โOr do you think I canโt even cover up such a small matter?โMs. Hertz froze immediately.Reina understood what he meant too, and that made her face fall.What he meant was that even if North did actually hire someone to harm Reina, he was there to suppress any news of the scandal. He did not need to lie to save her reputation at all.Reinaโs expression twisted grotesquely, despite her best intentions. Even after all that scheming, she had forgotten to account for Geraldโs bias toward North!Why?! She was the one who lay in the snow for two whole hours! Why was he still biased toward North?!She was his โsaviorโ!Reina gritted her teeth and suddenly put on a dramatic expression. โI knew North would be innocent. Iโm fine, Gerald. Just get everyone to leave me. Donโt let me ruin your mood.โGerald looked at Reina calmly. โI will send someone to find the real culprit and handle it properly.โWith that, he led North out.
Ms. Hertz helped up a frail Reina, hatred burning in her eyes. โHow dare a certain someone still show her face in front of Reina?โNorth narrowed her eyes. โGerald already said heโd find the culprit. What are you being this hasty for?โโDonโt you act smug! Our Reinaโโ Before Ms. Hertz could finish her sentence, someone screamed in terror behind her.โOh, god! Stop! Everyone, look out!โNorth quickly looked up to see the ski coach charging over, holding a knife in his hand!The place erupted in chaos. Everyone was running away, for fear that the coach would stab them in his state of madness.โReina!โโMs. Reina!โโWhat do we do, Ms. Reina?!โSuddenly, the coach grabbed Reina with a precise grip and held the knife to her throat, snapping, โEveryone, shut up!โMs. Hertz panicked. โW-What are you doing? Donโt make any rash decisions! Put that knife down!โโWhat am I doing? Iโm taking this b*tch down with me even if I go to jail! I told you I wasnโt the mastermind, but you all di
Gerald got in the car as fast as he could, and the car sped off soon after that.North instinctively tried to follow him, but found herself in an awkward situation. What was she even following him for?Reina and Gerald were a marvelous pair. He would kick the ski coach for her, and she would take an injury for him. It seemed like no one else could get between them.โYou see, Mr. Howard still cares about our Reina the most,โ Ms. Hertz said passive-aggressively. โI think someone thought that just because sheโs hogging the title of Mrs. Howard, she could hog his heart too. What a joke!โNorth narrowed her eyes. She was a bit sad just now, but she was not the type to let random people make fun of her.So, she shot back, โIโm sure Gerald wouldโve carried you into that car too if you were dying, Ms. Hertz. Would you like to test that theory?โMs. Hertz froze. โHow dare you!โNathan immediately kicked her out. โIs there anything else, Ms. Hag? If not, please get out of here, OK?โNath
After some searching, North realized there were seven to eight different trending terms related to the incident alone. She clicked on one at random and noticed that the comments were initially made in support of Reina. However, the situation gradually morphed into a one-sided call for North to be punished.She frowned. โDid Reina hire online trolls?โMarlin nodded. โShe must have. All of Reina Studiosโ promotional accounts are joining the fray. By the time I noticed, it was too late. Itโs not a good idea to suppress something once itโs already started trending, but Iโll do it if you donโt want to see that.โNorth narrowed her eyes. โDonโt waste your money. Even if you stop it from trending, Reina can spend more money to make it trend again.โNorth skimmed through the comments section. [Reina got injured on a skiing trip. I heard she froze in the snow for almost two hours and even got stabbed. Sheโs still unconscious!][What do we do? Letโs pray for Reina. How did a skiing trip g
The comments section blew up.[Wait, what? Really? That trip only allowed family members as additional guests?!][Yeah, Nathan Howard owns that resort, and he was the one who enforced that rule. Every other guest brought their spouses, children, and parents, but Mr. Howard brought Reina. Doesnโt that mean Reinaโs his wife?][Itโs confirmed, then! But how did North get there?][I bet she mooched off Reina. Sheโs Mr. Howardโs wife, which makes North his sister-in-law. If North said she wanted to tag along, who was he to refuse?][North is so shamelessโฆ][North almost got Reina killed by going there. Surely, Mr. Howard would avenge her? Northโs doomed!]โฆAfter looking through several trending topics, North noticed they were largely talking about the same things. In response, her lips thinned into a straight line.Why were Reina and Ms. Hertz deliberately influencing the trending topics? Gerald had instructed them not to leak any news about the incident since he was trying to f
North suddenly felt a little lost. She was waiting for Gerald at the hotel, but where was he?Reina was already awake, and yet he was not back yet. Why? Did he not know she was waiting for him?Something that had been supporting her this whole time seemed to shatter immediately. North could not bear to stay there anymore.Grabbing her suitcase, she got to the airport and hopped on the very next flight to Peacevale that very night.She needed to spend a few days calming down in a place that felt familiar and safe to her.After getting off the flight, she somehow made it back to Royal Sights Residences.At the time, it was already 3:00 a.m., so the entire place was completely dark. North was feeling a little dizzy, so she stood at the entrance for a while before finally going in. When she reached the second floor, North was about to go back to her room when she noticed the lights were on in the study, and she could hear Stewardโs voice. โYoungsters have their own way of figuring
He moved his wrists and frowned.Did North sleep for the entire day? Was she disoriented?North sat by the bed with nothing to do. She watched as time passed. Strange, why wasnโt she awake yet? Was she that sleepy? Could it be that the advanced exam questions were too difficult and she did not want to wake up?North could not help but think about the questions. Hmmโฆ they did not seem very difficult. She had thought of a solution!Indeed, people had endless potential when they were dreaming. They could even come up with answers to such difficult questions!North was afraid that she would forget and wanted to wake up quickly, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not wake up. She closed her eyes and opened them again, but she was still in the room.North frowned and muttered to herself, โWhatโs going onโฆ?โGerald looked at her silently.He also wanted to ask what was going on.โNorth, do you need my help?โNorth hesitated. Even though it was a dream, she was still a littl
North exclaimed in surprise.It turned out that Gerald could be sarcastic too!Gerald did not give Patricia any time to react. He was just short of chasing the entire Bracken family out.While the Bracken family was leaving, Gerald heard Mike grumble, โMomโฆ If you knew this was going to happen, why didnโt you adjust your act earlier!โPatricia was furious. โI did all of this for you. How could you fall for Geraldโs tricks?!โโBut Gerald was right. They suspect that Iโm not Paigeโs son because of you!โโฆGiselleโs smile became more and more sarcastic. When the Bracken family disappeared, he said, โAccompany me pay respects to Paige. Also, get someone to clean Glass Manor inside and out.โHe wanted to get rid of the bad vibes the Bracken family had brought in.โฆA few days later, when they returned to Royal Sights Residences, the Bracken family actually stopped causing trouble.North was about to graduate, and she had one final exam. She saw the class group chat exchanging adva
โWhy? Do you think that Iโve forgotten how Paige died?โGiselle never expected that this shameless family would have the audacity to make an issue out of Paigeโs death.โYou make it sound so simple. Even if Patricia dies today, you would never disregard her last wishes. Is everything you do for the good of the Bracken family?โStill, the only person the Bracken family has ever had to sacrifice was Paige!โVirgil snapped, โNonsense! Iโm Paigeโs biological father, how could IโฆโGiselle sneered. โStop putting on an act. You didnโt look for your daughter when she was missing. You didnโt feel sorry for your daughter when she returned. You kept asking her to tolerate the adopted daughter. When she was sick, you even stopped her treatment so that she would die and let your adopted daughter marry her husband.โVirgil, Iโm sick. Iโm not dead yet, and I havenโt lost my memory. If this happens again, Iโll destroy the entire Bracken family!โGiselle looked at the bodyguards she had brought
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.Virgil found it hard to breathe. โLet go! Are you crazy?!โโIโm asking you a question. Where is Paige buried? Tell me!โVirgilโs brain was deprived of oxygen. Without thinking, he roared, โHow would I know? Let go, you crazy woman!โPatricia screamed, โMadam Giselle, what are you doing? Let go of him. Do you want Dad to die?โGeraldโs second uncle also shouted, โMadam Giselle, why are you doing this to us? Donโt treat your husband like this!โโYou donโt know? You donโt know at all, do you?โ Giselle ignored everyone. She looked unremorseful. She scoffed.โYou claim to be severely depressed about your daughterโs death,โ Giselle retorted. โDespite that, you actually donโt know where your daughterโs grave is!โAs soon as she finished speaking, the entire place fell silent.When Virgil realized what he had just said, his face turned pale and he stopped screaming. He trembled as he spoke to Giselle hatefully. โYou did this on purposeโฆโThat wa
Mike said weakly, โNorth, we paid our respects to my mother before we went out today. We didnโt say anything because we were afraid that Grandpa wouldnโt be able to accept it.โAs expected, Virgil clutched his chest and looked like he was about to faint.Patricia cried out, โGerald, are you satisfied now that your grandfather is trembling in anger? Weโve kept it a secret for so many years. Despite thatโฆโEveryone sighed. So, that was how it was.It was indeed Ms. Paigeโs death anniversary today. However, the old man had fallen into a state of depression from the intense guilt. He then mistakenly thought that his daughter had passed away in May.As his family, Patricia and Mike could not bear to make the old man feel more guilty. Thus, they maintained the facade.In fact, they would pay their respects to Paige every year.This made sense. After all, Virgil was old and could not stand such harsh emotions.The people from the Bracken family jumped on this chance to scold Gerald. โ
Everyone was dumbfounded. North was really bold!North blinked. โWhatโs wrong, Mr. Virgil? Why are you so angry? Did I say something wrong?โโWhat nonsense! Paige is my daughter! How could I intentionally let her die?!โNorth widened her eyes. โI didnโt say that you intentionally let her die! Itโs just that the Bracken family didnโt like her and looked down on her. The medical staff didnโt care about her either. In the end, they didnโt even treat her and let her die.โI know. Itโs not your fault. After all, you were so busy. How could you have the time to take care of a daughter you donโt love?โVirgil clutched his chest. โWhat nonsenseโฆ! Shut up!โโNorth!โ Patricia screamed. โGerald, are you just going to watch her anger your grandfather? Your grandfatherโs health isnโt goodโฆโโWhat did I say wrong?โNorth sighed. โLook at what Mr. Virgil said. Ms. Paige passed away at the end of May, so why didnโt he treat her for two whole months from the end of March to the end of May?โTh
Mike knew that he had fallen into Northโs trap and was speechless!He was so anxious that his expression changed. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and huge beads of sweat dripped down. โUmโฆ IโฆโโMike!โ Patricia saw that the situation was not good, so she hurriedly interrupted Mike and pulled him behind her.Then, she took a deep breath and pretended to be helpless and upset.โGerald, what nonsense are you talking about?! Weโre family. If you have anything youโre upset about, just tell me. Thereโs no need to cause trouble at the banquet and make an issue out of Paigeโs death anniversary!โWeโre all Paigeโs family, and Dad is also Paigeโs biological father. How can we not know when her death anniversary is?โPaigeโs death anniversary is at the end of May. Itโs not today at all. Youโฆ Youโre too much!โVirgil looked aggrieved. He nodded and said, โThatโs right. Paigeโs death anniversary is in May. Gerald, I know you donโt want to give up her inheritance. Moreover, I didnโt fo
Everyoneโs eyes fell on Gerald.Gerald looked up slowly and said calmly, โMs. Patricia, why did you choose today to hold a banquet for Mike?โโIt doesnโt matter what day I chose!โ Patricia roared.โSo, you did choose the date.โGerald looked down at Patricia from above. His cold gaze made Patricia suddenly feel suffocated.Her โsonโ had a murderous look in his eyes. โAny other day would have been fine, but not today.โPatricia hated the look in Geraldโs eyes the most. Why was he so arrogant? Why was he looking down on her? Why was he like that b*tch?She screamed, โGerald, Iโm your mother! Mike is your brother! Itโs fine if you donโt love me, but you keep finding fault with me. What right do you haveโโโToday is the anniversary of Paigeโs death.โGerald interrupted her.Patriciaโs face turned pale, and the words that she wanted to say were stuck in her throat. The scene instantly fell silent.What did Gerald say? What day was it today?Today was the anniversary of Paigeโs d
Patricia felt a lump in her throat. โYouโฆโโConnor, come out.โ North interrupted her.Then, a group of people dressed in black walked out of nowhere and played mournful music. Connor walked in the middle and placed a memorial tablet on the table.Everyone looked at the memorial tablet curiously, wanting to know whose memorial tablet it was. When everyone saw the name โPaigeโ, they instantly fell silent.North and Gerald paid their respects. Then, they placed the bouquets beside the memorial tablet.Their actions stunned everyone.Had they come to pay respects to Paige?Patricia was trembling. She stared fixedly at Paigeโs name on the memorial tablet. She clenched her fists.Paige!Gerald had paid his respects to Paige at a banquet for Mike. Was he crazy?! She was so unlucky! Paige was already dead, but she was still the center of attention at Mikeโs banquet!After paying her respects, North turned around. โWhat are you waiting for? Arenโt you going to pay your respects?โ