LOGINEllena received Edward's reply and hung up the phone without asking any more questions.
Edward stared at the phone that had been hung up. He looked at it for a long time before putting it down thoughtfully.
When Edward got off work, he first went back to the villa and brought Elaine to Ellena's place.
When the father and daughter arrived, the dinner was not ready yet.
Ellena was making a stew.
The stew was filled with fungus and emitted a strong fragran
Paul was startled by Ellena’s words.He looked at her with a complicated expression. There was a flicker of surprise, then understanding, then something else. It was filled with respect, perhaps, or regret.“When Mr. Arnoult was still around,” Paul said quietly, “I once asked him this question too, about whether you could sell the company if it ever came to you. He told me... it was up to you.”Ellena turned her face slightly, brows raised in genuine surprise. She could not see her expression, but she could feel the disbelief, the faint irony curling at the edges of her mouth.She stared down at the documents, silent for a moment. Then she sneered, not at Paul but at the strange foresight Edward had always possessed. “He really did think of everything, didn’t he?”Paul didn’t answer. Instead, he glanced at his watch and smoothly changed the subject. “The meeting is about to start.”
The next morning, Ellena dressed in a crisp black suit and tied her hair into a low, elegant bun. Her face looked calm, composed but her heart was heavier than she let on.This was her first official visit to the Arnoult Group after the news of her takeover had gone public.Though she had been connected to the company in name through Edward for years, this was the first time she walked into its halls with true authority. With a title. With power. And with pressure.Paul arrived at her house right on time to escort her to the office.The moment the black car pulled into the underground parking lot, employees began to take notice. And when Ellena stepped out in heels, sharp lines, and an unreadable expression, their murmurs followed her like a low, curious wave.Some watched with blatant curiosity.Some with restrained skepticism.And some with open disdain.After all, in their eyes, Ellena had never truly belonged to this world of n
Ellena chuckled lightly, the corners of her lips curling up with a cool grace. “Previously, Madeline had been frantically looking for Naomi. I guess they’ve finally found her.”“Sure enough, I knew you’d guess it!” Chloe’s eyes lit up as she clapped her hands in excitement. “I had the same feeling too. I mean, who else would make the Smiths go in and out of a hospital so often? It's not like they’re known for compassion.”“I know the Smith family well enough,” she continued. “They don’t care about people without a reason. The only ones they’d be so cautious about are either deeply tied to them… or Naomi herself.”Ellena’s expression darkened slightly as memories she would rather forget came rushing back. She had long seen through the veneer the Smiths used to disguise their hypocrisy. Their affection was always transactional, calculated.“The
Ellena's refusal didn’t end the reporter’s line of questioning. Instead, the man pressed forward boldly, as if emboldened by the silence that followed.“I think this is still related to the Arnoult Group, Miss Smith,” he insisted, voice rising slightly. “Now that the group is under your control, we just want to understand the reasons behind the transfer. Don’t the public and shareholders deserve to know?”A few gasps and murmurs followed among the crowd of reporters.Ellena’s expression didn’t waver. Her tone remained composed, but colder this time. “That is a personal matter,” she replied crisply. “Forgive me for not answering you.”The reporter opened his mouth again, but before he could utter another word, Paul stepped forward. With a subtle nod, he signaled to the staff on standby. Within moments, two security personnel made their way over and led the persistent reporter out of the room.This wasn’t an ordinary company. It was the Arnoult Group. Even with Edward’s disappearance, t
Paul took the neatly folded newspaper from his side and handed it to Ellena with a solemn expression. The headline was bold and striking, unmistakably referring to the Arnoult Group and Edward’s disappearance.Ellena accepted it calmly, her eyes sweeping across the front page only for a brief second before she folded it again and placed it aside on the coffee table. “I’ve already read it online,” she said with detached poise.In truth, she hadn’t read every word. She didn’t need to. All the headlines said the same thing, about the accident, the disappearance, the missing CEO. She didn’t need words to feel the chaos boiling just under the surface of her carefully constructed calm. She was already living it.Paul remained quiet for a moment, perhaps surprised by her nonchalance. But Ellena had always been strong in her own way. After a moment, he said, “We might hold a press conference next.”Ellena nodd
However, the problem was that they had no news of Edward yet, and there had been no trace of Sampson either.Judging from the current situation, they had no news of Edward.It was hard to say whether Edward would take the initiative to contact them.However, the most pressing issue right now was that the the Arnoult Group. If Edward disappeared for one more days, the employees of the Arnoult Group would be even more panicked.After the two of them finished speaking, they became silent.After a while, Paul said, "Miss Smith, please consider it."What he meant was to let Ellena consider taking over the Arnoult Group.Ellena's expression became more indifferent. "I don't know how to do business."A hint of joy flashed across Paul's eyes. "That's okay. I will help you."In terms of affection, Paul had been through more experience than Edward had.He and Carolina had been in love when they were in college. In the end,
As usual, Edward was wearing a well-ironed custom-made suit. His face was solemn and his breath was cold.His ink-like eyes stared fixedly at Ellena. Although he did not say anything, Ellena could already clearly feel the extremely oppressive aura coming from his body.Ellena thought of what she did t
Ellena clearly felt Edward's body stiffen, and even his breathing became heavy.He seemed to have this kind of reaction when he kissed her before.Did he have a reaction at that time?Fortunately, the light in the corner was dim. Edward could not see her red face. Otherwise, he would have laughed at he
Ellena and Little Nicklaus finished their meal and left. However, before they left, she and Little Nicklauss made an agreement that he was not allowed to mess up the room. He was not allowed to go on credit or run around. Little Nicklaus did not agree at first. Ellena smiled coldly and said, "Do you
As soon as Ellena left the restaurant, she ran upstairs like a ghost chasing after her and returned to her room.Closing the door, she leaned against the door and patted her chest.No wonder "Nicklaus" always liked to tease her when she had nothing to do. It turned out that doing so was very exciting!







