INICIAR SESIÓNFor a marriage alliance with the Walton family, Rick would have to invest a great deal of time and energy into supporting Lesley. Right now, he could barely take care of himself—how could he possibly spare the capacity to help anyone else?Rick would certainly need someone who could directly provide him with real assistance.Among the major domestic families, there was no longer anyone suitable for him.That left only foreign families as his pool of options.The Hayser family in Marcentine had considerable strength. It was, in fact, a rather suitable choice.Carter looked at Sharon's composed face and suddenly fell slightly into a daze. Two years ago, she had still been personally cooking soup for him. Later, she had appeared on stage, dazzling and radiant beyond reach. And now, she could sit across from him, speaking with ease and composure.It seemed that no matter what setbacks she encountered, she was never truly defeated—only strengthened by them.Carter suddenly realized
Carter did not hide the truth."This time I came to Marcentine, it wasn't just to see you. I'm also here to avoid Samantha."Sharon's gaze shifted slightly. "What happened with Samantha?"Rubbing his brow, Carter said, "A while ago, she came to Amstern City and kept harassing me. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I came here to lay low."Sharon had heard before that Samantha had been infatuated with Carter for years. She hadn't expected that even after so long, Samantha's feelings were still so persistent.Sharon said to him, "Strictly speaking, I shouldn't interfere in your personal relationships. But Samantha is close to Victoria. Given my current relationship with Victoria—and what's happened with Lex—Samantha will almost certainly hate me. If you choose her, Theo might also be dragged into it."Carter immediately said, "I have no interest in her whatsoever. There's absolutely no way I'll be with her. Sharon, don't worry—I won't let anyone harm Theo."Just as Sharon was about t
Seeing this, Wendy's heart ached terribly for Sharon.Unfortunately, her cooking skills were disastrous—she was the kind of person who could burn down a kitchen on a good day—so she couldn't even prepare nourishing meals for Sharon.It was all Julliard's fault! If he hadn't poisoned Sharon, her body wouldn't have been damaged to this extent.In a fit of anger, Wendy even called the prison and ordered them to keep Julliard hungry for a few days.That day, while Sharon was working, Wendy came to knock on her door."Sharon," she said, "Carter heard that your health has recovered and wants to see you."She studied Sharon's expression carefully. "He's been in Marcentine for a while now. Do you want to meet him?"During the time Sharon had been recuperating at Uriah's residence, she had not seen anyone except Wendy.Carter had asked several times to visit her, but she had turned him down each time. In the end, he had no choice but to return temporarily.Recently, after hearing from
Otherwise, Victoria would end up like Silas—discarded as a useless pawn.Although Rick had developed some caution toward Victoria, she currently posed no real threat. Her reputation was tainted by scandal, her shares had been reclaimed, and she was also pregnant.Transferring shares was easy. Getting them back was far more difficult.Rick did not believe Victoria could stir up any serious trouble under his watch.He asked, "In your opinion, what should our next move be?"Victoria smiled faintly. "We can follow Sharon's example. Didn't she have you hospitalized so you couldn't interfere with Kalen Group's affairs? We can do the same—make her unable to focus on anything else."Rick frowned. "I only just woke up, and if Sharon is suddenly involved in a car accident again, it would be far too obvious. Not just the shareholders who side with her, even those who support Dad might not accept it."Victoria replied, "Of course, staging a car accident is out of the question. But keeping h
At Victoria's words, a look of humiliation immediately surfaced on Rick's face.As the eldest son of the Kalen family, he had been groomed as the heir since childhood. Whether within the Kalen Group or the Kalen household, he had always been a figure of authority second only to Richard.Even the shareholders aligned with Shayla had shown him a measure of deference.Previously, although Sharon had secured half the support within the company, Rick still held the upper hand in decision-making and execution. But now, he was expected to act according to Sharon's will.For someone who had long held the power of life and death over the Kalen Group, this was utterly unacceptable.He was the legitimate heir—no scandal-ridden illegitimate son. Everything about him, from conduct to bearing, had always been upright and honorable. To force him to endure humiliation and bow his head under Sharon's command was worse than killing him.Victoria took in every flicker of expression on his face."T
By the time Victoria received the news, Rick had already recovered for the most part.After learning this, Victoria let out a soft, mocking laugh."Dad actually kept this from me as well… It seems he doesn't trust me that much either. He's not only wary of Sharon—he's wary of me too."At her side, Cole spoke up, "Victoria, if there's anything you need, I'll do everything I can to help."As he spoke, his gaze fell to her lower abdomen, softening."Victoria, no matter whether this child is mine or not, I'll treat it as my own."Victoria curved her lips slightly but said nothing.Aside from Jamie, Cole was the most sincere one by her side. Unfortunately, his abilities were limited—there was only so much he could do for her.Back when Jamie's position had been unstable, he was still far more capable than Cole.Victoria had already begun to regret it—if she hadn't cut ties with Jamie back then, things might have been different. He could have remained useful to her, and Sharon would
Cole frowned from the side. "They're just a couple of scandalous photos. That can't be enough to ruin him, can it?"Lex's tone was cool, detached. "Of course the photos alone aren't enough. But think about it—from the moment that live stream went viral, the Walton Group's market value plummeted.
"As for Chuggs…" Toni's voice grew heavy when he said his son's name, as if the weight of it tired him. "He was unlucky he died at the hands of a lunatic."Toni had wired the place with explosives and clearly expected a mutual ruin. But if there was a way to avenge himself and survive, he wasn't ab
Thomas was a bad shape. He'd lost too much blood to bother with neat bandaging; the wounds had to wait. Even the most practiced hands grow slow when the lungs are full of poison, and the smoke had already stolen the sharp edge from him. The flames were eating the place faster than sense; he knew
Thomas continued, "The reason Richard values Victoria so much isn't because she's particularly exceptional, it's because of the connections and resources she controls. "I've looked into it. Over the years, she's built quite a network among the elite. People like Jamie and Lex are her suitors, and







