LOGINBy the time it ended, Sydney was drenched, as if she had just been pulled from the water. Sweat clung to her skin as she lay face down on the pillow, too exhausted to move.Julian took out a wet wipe and carefully cleaned her. "Do you want to wash up?""No." Sydney refused at once.Lately, every time they finished, Julian carried her into the bathroom and patiently helped her bathe. Tonight, she was not going. This unreliable man had a terrible habit of turning a bath into something else entirely.Right now, she only wanted to sleep.Her eyes were naturally soft. With tears still clinging to the corners, she looked especially disarming.Julian swallowed and forced down the heat rising in him. He carried Sydney to the sofa, changed the rumpled bedding, then lifted her back into bed."Go to sleep," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm going to shower."Sydney's eyelids felt too heavy to lift. She answered vaguely, "Mm. Go."…The next day, Sydney, who usually woke on
Julian looked to be in a very good mood.Sydney assumed he was joking, so she played along. "Right, right. James is about to hand the CEO's seat over to me, isn't he?"Julian let out a low laugh and pinched her cheek, still warm from the shower. "If you asked, they might actually give it to you."Even he had been surprised when the Huttons handed over 5% of the shares. The fact that they valued Sydney this much made him happy for her.Sydney shot him a look and dropped the teasing. "Hurry up and dry my hair."Julian had been so attentive lately that she had grown used to being taken care of. She had not dried her own hair in quite a while.His gaze softened. "Yes, ma'am."He guided her onto the sofa, picked up the hair dryer, and began drying her hair with practiced ease.After that, Sydney brought up the special drug project again. She had not been able to visit the institute much lately, but she and Marcus had continued adjusting the plan.She made the decisions. Marcus hand
Not a word of that was false. All these years, no one in the Hutton family had ever given up on finding Vee. Not even Theodore.As for Albus, his repeated hesitation over the shares came down to one thing. He feared the four siblings might one day grow distant because of them.Since they had all thought it through, Elizabeth glanced at him, then addressed the siblings. "You're not the only ones who feel they owe Vee. Your grandfather and I made plans long ago. If we ever found her, every hotel under my name would go to her."The hotels she referred to were part of the estate she had inherited from her parents. No matter how profitable they had become, they remained her personal assets.Florence could sense the elders' sincerity in wanting to make it up to Vee.Even so, she thought of the other three children. "What do you all think? Sydney isn't someone who cares about money. If she chooses to come back, it will only be because she wants family."If all of this causes unhappiness
The Hutton Group's shares were divided as follows. A portion was held under Elizabeth's name. Theodore, James, and Raymond each held 10%. Florence held 30%, though 20% of that was held in trust for Diana and Vee.Albus frowned. "You don't need to worry about Vee's shares. What belongs to her is already under your mother's name. It can be transferred to her later."He clearly did not want to upset the balance of either the company or the family.No matter what Theodore had done, he was still his son. In any family, people did not fear having too little as much as they feared not being treated equally.That was why the Huttons had always handled inheritance matters openly, with strict fairness.But Raymond pretended not to understand. He smiled and said, "Grandpa, since when do you pretend not to see something this obvious? What's under Mom's name already belongs to Vee. All four of us have the same thing. If it's identical, how does that count as compensation?"'That brat,' Albus
Not for a single moment did Sydney forget that those two carried the blood of her loved ones on their hands.Julian's gaze shifted from the file in her hands to the redness in her eyes."They will," he answered without hesitation.He had already sent Elliot to search for evidence of what Eloise had done back then. The police could not use certain methods, but Elliot handled them with ease.Nonetheless, it would only take time.Sydney drew a quiet breath and slid the papers back into the folder exactly as they had been. "Mm. I think so too."Even a bird left traces when it flew past. A murder left far more.At Seraph Villa…The moment Diana hung up, she felt the weight of everyone's eyes on her.Florence, James, Raymond, and even Albus and Elizabeth looked at her expectantly. They clearly wanted to know how Sydney had reacted. Everyone understood that if this was handled poorly, bringing Sydney back would become much harder.To outsiders, the Huttons stood at the height of pow
Sydney's voice was soft and sincere.Just like that, the strain in Diana's exhausted nerves eased. "Then I should thank you too."What had she done to deserve that kind of trust?After the call ended, the silence around them deepened. Only faint sounds drifted in now and then from the living room, too slight to matter.The setting sun softened Sydney's features even more. Then, as if something had suddenly clicked, she turned sharply to Julian and pointed at him."Did you already know this might connect back to the Huttons?" Her tone was light. She did not sound angry.A faint smile touched Julian's lips. "Settling scores after the fact?""I'm just curious, okay?"Julian nodded and told her the truth. "Mr. Tarrant, the one Diana just mentioned, was Brimcrest's top officer back then. He was also Albus' former comrade."Sydney understood at once. Julian had already found out. He had simply not told her.When she fell briefly quiet, he looked at her. "Are you upset?""No."The
At the doctor's office, the attending physician glanced nervously at the man before him.Julian's presence was sharp and commanding, filling the room with tension."Mr. Sterling," the doctor began cautiously. "It's not that I don't want to show you the report, but it's against hospital policy."I
Sydney frowned and instinctively turned to Julian. His expression had cooled, and asked steadily, "Since when did Sterling Corp.'s decisions become yours to make?"Eloise lifted her chin and demanded unyieldingly, "When you can no longer separate business from personal affairs, how can this company
Sydney instinctively glanced at Caleb, only to hear him refuse first. "No need. I'll head down."She nodded. "Alright."She was about to step inside when Caleb added, "Since you're pregnant, don't push yourself too hard. I'll have Nancy prepare your meals and bring them over from now on."That wa
Agatha pushed aside her unease, went straight upstairs, and found Sydney's office. She knocked on the half-closed door and called warmly, "Syd, are you off work?"Sydney had just changed out of her white coat, ready to leave. She smiled. "Yeah, just about to. What brings you here? Didn't you come b







