Jonah was stunned. How could it be that both Damon and Grandpa Mark were saying the same thing?
"When we divorced, I gave Hazel a sum of money, but she returned it all to me. She didn’t want it at that time. Why would she let you come here to ask for it now?" After a pause, Damon continued, "Grandpa must have told you about how he wanted to give Hazel 2% of Price Corp’s shares as a wedding gift, but she firmly rejected it. You didn’t even bother to check the details before coming to our door. Vice President Queen, don’t you feel ashamed?" Jonah’s mind felt like it had exploded. 2% of Price Corp’s shares was no small amount. Even if Hazel spent money recklessly for her entire life, it would be enough for her to squander. Yet she had refused it. Did she even understand the value of 2% of Price Corp’s shares? Jonah wished he could travel back in time and force Hazel to agree to the Price family’s offer. If she had, she wouldn’t be back now, fighting him fo“I’m a straightforward person, so don’t take offense. But honestly, this villa looks worse than shit right now. I can’t even imagine how the person who demolished the original design could have done it.”“Look here, this was clearly a beautiful bar area, but they knocked it down and expanded the dining room…”Sheila rambled on about the design, mostly complaining about the current renovations and praising the original design.As a designer, she really couldn’t understand why anyone would destroy such a beautiful setup and turn the villa into this mess.The more Sheila went on, the more relieved Hazel felt. Only someone who truly appreciated the design would take the time to restore it to its original form.“Miss Tucker, I’ll leave this villa to you. I have only one request: please don’t make any changes to the photos I’ve given you. If anything needs adjustment, let’s discuss it together.”Since returning, Hazel had been struggling with whet
Kin didn’t try to make excuses for himself when things went wrong."We had tracked down some leads from Marcus's former colleague, but when we followed that trail, we found out that this Marcus isn’t real," Kin explained."The real Marcus had sold his social media accounts to someone else a long time ago, and even had this person post fragments of his life using the account. However, no personal photos were posted, so his colleagues believed the person in the circle of friends was the real Marcus."From these events, Kin could tell that Marcus was no simple person. This tactic alone showed how prepared he was. It seemed that he had already anticipated the retaliation from the Price family and had made plans to cover his tracks long ago.Months had passed, and now that they were finally looking for him, the difficulty had only increased.Seeing how cautious Marcus had been, Kin was starting to feel more overwhelmed. His social media accounts were fa
A few days later, a rumor suddenly surfaced online, involving Jonah going to the Price family to demand a dowry for Hazel. A marketing account shared the news, making it sound as though the person had witnessed it firsthand, and it quickly spread. Sully brought her phone over to Hazel. "A while ago, we only warned the media, but we haven't publicly addressed these marketing accounts online. What do you want to do about it?" This kind of thing couldn't be stirred up by just one marketing account; they wouldn't even report on news that wouldn't gain traction. Ultimately, someone had paid for it to be spread. "This is a good opportunity to teach them a lesson. Even if we don’t warn them in the future, they won’t dare to spread nonsense like this again." Actually, for Hazel, this sudden development might not be all bad. After all, she had just held a press conference, and now she could give these people a lesson. It would show them that when Hazel speaks, it’s n
Hazel’s parents were no longer around, and the person closest to her now was himself, but if he kept being so unreasonable, it would truly break her heart. “So, should I be thanking you instead?” Hazel laughed outright, finding Jonah’s pathetic acting utterly ridiculous. “We’re all family—why talk about gratitude? I just didn’t expect that your actions would bring such a big problem to the company,” he said, feigning regret. Sully sneered coldly and slammed a stack of A4 papers onto the conference table. “Vice President Queen, are you pretending not to know, or do you genuinely not know? I’ve traced everything. These so-called marketing accounts have all claimed they were paid by you to stir things up. Care to explain?” Over the years, Jonah had built a bit of a reputation outside the company. Using that clout to pull stunts like this wasn’t entirely unexpected. But he had underestimated Hazel’s abilities. He assumed she wouldn’t be able to trace t
At the Price Old Mansion, Grandpa Mark had been up early, supervising the house's preparations. Once everything was in order, he went to the kitchen to ensure the cook prepared all of Hazel's favorite dishes. By eleven o'clock in the morning, everything was ready. Grandpa Mark was about to call Hazel to ask when she would arrive, so he could signal the kitchen to start cooking, but was stopped by Butler Hank. "Sir, I understand you're anxious, but it's not appropriate to rush Miss Queen. She might be busy with work. The cooking is quick, and I'll have the time-consuming dishes stewed in advance. Please be patient." After thinking for a moment, Grandpa Mark agreed. Butler Hank's suggestion made sense—if he kept pushing Hazel, she might get annoyed and not want to come again. Upstairs, Delilah and Agatha had not come downstairs all morning. They overheard the servants talking about Grandpa Mark’s unusual actions and both wore expressions of disdain. "I don't k
Damon had indeed been busy lately. Hazel had informed him in advance about the potential contract termination, so he had been evaluating which corporations might collaborate with Price Corp on this project.“It’s lunchtime, after all. Grandpa mentioned earlier that we’d have guests, so I came home a bit earlier. Anyway, I’d have to eat at the company, so it doesn’t waste much time,” Damon explained, trying to downplay his return.Just moments ago, he had been boasting that Hazel had personally told him. Now, he shifted the narrative, saying it was the old man who had informed him in advance.Fortunately, the old man understood Damon was worried about Delilah’s emotional well-being and chose not to press the matter.Agatha, however, had overheard everything. She was stunned by Damon’s sudden change of story and stood there, at a loss for words.It was Delilah who approached Damon, her gaze soft and kind. “Do you know who today’s gues
As soon as Hazel entered, Delilah approached with a wide smile, linking arms with Damon. She spoke sweetly, "Hazel, I couldn’t greet you at the door because of my condition. I hope you don’t mind. But I sent Damon to welcome you instead."Damon took a deep breath, holding back his annoyance, resisting the urge to shake off Delilah’s hand.Noticing Hazel’s expression, Grandpa Mark worried she might feel uncomfortable and was about to ask Agatha to escort Delilah upstairs. But Hazel spoke up with a polite yet sharp tone."Miss Hasani, why say such things? We’re not particularly close to begin with. You not coming to greet me is perfectly normal. If you had rushed out to welcome me, that would have startled me."The words hit like a sharp blade, and Delilah’s smile froze immediately. She hadn’t expected Hazel to speak so bluntly, especially in front of everyone.Initially, Delilah thought they’d all maintain a facade of politeness given the p
Within the hour, news had spread: ‘Hazel had gone to the Price residence to apologize, only to be coldly received.’The next day, Queen Corporation held a board meeting. Hazel calmly explained her visit to the Price family and announced that their collaboration on the joint project was officially terminated.The room erupted into chaos, with the directors unable to sit still—especially Jonah, whose face turned ashen at the unexpected announcement."It’s impossible. Mr. Mark Price likes you so much. Even if I’ve made some mistakes, he wouldn't want to destroy Queen Corp or ruin you because of that," someone in the room said, trying to calm the situation.The others clearly shared this sentiment, and their gazes all turned toward Hazel."Have you all not seen the videos and photos online? Or do you still think I have the ability to casually convince Grandpa Mark?" Hazel replied, her voice steady.
Hazel's injuries from the car accident weren’t light. If an ordinary person had been in her place, they’d probably need ten to fifteen days of rest. But Hazel had the Shadow Vial X in her system, so she had recovered to a great extent in just one week."Didn’t expect the Shadow Vial X to be this powerful. No wonder so many people are trying to get their hands on it," Damon couldn’t help but comment, despite his vast experience.Achieving immortality seems impossible with the current state of science, but things like the Shadow Vial X, which can enhance the body's functions and push human limits, are precisely what draw so many to covet it."Though you're better now, it's best you don’t go out just yet," Elias calmly pointed out, and everyone agreed.No matter who caused the accident, it was most likely aimed at the Shadow Vial X. If news got out that Hazel was recovering so quickly, it would only make people even more f
HX’s headquarters was in D country, so it was perfectly normal for Xander to return there for work.However, Harold’s people must know that Xander was involved in this matter. It wouldn’t be easy to keep it from him entirely."We still need to be cautious. Harold is not as simple as we think," Damon said, his worry clear, though he didn’t have a better solution.Sully had been silent, her head lowered. She knew everything about the incident between Hazel and Harold from the very beginning.She always felt that Harold didn’t seem to have bad intentions toward Hazel. If he truly wanted to know if the Shadow Vial X was on Hazel, he wouldn’t have used such a reckless approach. After all, if something went wrong, Hazel could really lose her life.Harold only had Hazel as a lead; he wouldn’t so easily abandon this clue."Have you considered that what happened to Hazel this time might not have been done by Harold?" Sully suddenly spoke up.
"I’ll find a way to bring her back to the Price residence. My Grandpa’s health isn’t good, so we have most of the medical equipment at home. If Hazel just has external injuries, treating her should be no problem."Even though this hospital was invested in by the Price Corp, Damon no longer dared to let Hazel stay here for treatment.After all, there were so many people in the hospital, and he couldn’t be sure whether they were all from the Prices."I understand. If you need anything, just call me directly. You can keep Sully close to you. She’s a girl, and she has a good relationship with Hazel. Plus, she’s quite capable," Xander said."It’s better for her to take care of Hazel while we handle the situation."Damon nodded, not planning to have Sully leave with Xander. As for Omar, there were no secrets about him, and he was a good fit to stay in the hospital for treatment.Fortunately, there were doctors loyal to the Price family in this hos
Damon didn’t believe this was a simple accident; it had to be related to Harold. Originally, he had planned to investigate the matter involving his granduncle later, but now, the urgency of finding answers had increased.Damon sat in the ambulance with Hazel, heading to the hospital while Kin stayed behind to handle things at the scene.Once everyone was rescued, the police took their statements, and the area was quickly cleared. The bloodstains were washed away with water, and aside from a few spots that hadn’t dried, the horrific scene seemed as though it had never happened.Before the results of Hazel and Omar’s surgeries were available, Damon couldn’t bring himself to inform the old master.Ever since the events with Agatha and Jamal, the old master’s health had been deteriorating. The doctors had insisted he needed to rest.The old master had already worried himself sick over the situation with Hazel’s paren
“You have one too? Where did you get it?” Mark was utterly stunned. For a moment, he thought Hazel might have some connection to his estranged brother.“There’s a secret room in my parents’ study,” Hazel explained. “When I went in once, I found it there. I was worried it might be tied to something dangerous, so I didn’t dare mention it.”As she spoke, Hazel felt a pang of guilt. These people cared so deeply about her family matters, sharing everything they knew, yet she had withheld this crucial piece of information.“I’m sorry,” she said earnestly. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I was just afraid that knowing about this might put people in danger.”Her parents’ tragic fate still weighed heavily on her, making her cautious about involving anyone else. These people were family to her now, and she couldn’t bear the thought of putting them at risk.“This is your family matter,” Mark said gently. “It’s perfectly normal if there are things you don’
Damon, who read quickly, skimmed through the entire file before passing the laptop to his grandfather."So, it turns out everything Harold told me last time was true. I thought he might have planted some false information to mislead me into passing it along to you.""What exactly is Harold's objective? If he wanted to take the Shadow Vial X from you, he should have worked to gain your trust. Why would he reveal the entire truth to you through me?"Now that the truth was out, it was impossible to hide that Harold had a hand in harming Hazel's parents.If Harold thought he could convince Hazel to hand over the artifact now, he was clearly deluding himself."I don't understand it either," Hazel admitted. "Maybe he has a plan that we just don’t know about yet. That puts us at a disadvantage."The thought unsettled her. This constant feeling of being in the dark while the enemy operated from the shadows left her deeply uneasy.Esp
“Don’t worry, Hazel. What trouble could your grandpa possibly be in? The only downside is that the information network I relied on is completely burned. Years of hard work, gone! But finding something this significant makes it all worthwhile.”Seeing the proud smile on Omar’s face, Hazel finally felt reassured enough to focus on the materials.The information was incredibly thorough, laying bare everything about Harold, including his entanglements with Novaria and Jacob.As it turned out, Novaria was indeed Harold’s adopted daughter and a key researcher in his laboratory.Later, Novaria fell in love with Jacob, who joined her in the lab. Together, they became the central figures driving the lab’s most critical research.A significant portion of the lab’s breakthroughs were attributed to their work, leading Harold to pin all his hopes on them.The dossier also mentioned the elusive Shadow Vial X, confirming that Harold’s claims were
Hazel had carefully laid out every path, waiting for Adam to take just one step forward and fall into place.There was no time to waste. In two months, the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress would be held. If Hazel could deliver a heavy blow to Bailey at that event, she’d laugh herself to sleep every night.After parting ways with Amber, Hazel wasted no time contacting Adam to meet.The two families had already crossed paths professionally, so there was no need for secrecy. Hazel simply chose a café for the meeting.When Adam received Hazel's call, he was a bit surprised. Hearing that she wanted to meet for coffee left him even more astonished.The surprise quickly turned into apprehension. After all, Hazel asking him out for coffee didn’t seem like it could lead to anything good.When he cautiously arrived at the café's location, he relaxed slightly upon seeing Hazel sitting by a window in the main hall. There were other patrons nearby,
"Don’t think I’m clueless about everything. Let me tell you, when I interned at home, I did really well. My brother always praised how quickly I pick up things," Chrissy said confidently."I've already discussed this with my family. They trust me being here with you. They even said it would be best if you helped me find a reliable partner, but you don’t need to worry about that. I can handle it myself."Before Damon could respond, Carlos jumped in, "No need, the way you pick your partners, you’re better off screening out the scumbags yourself.""Hey!" Chrissy shouted at Carlos, startling him.Carlos, knowing that Chrissy was a bit loud and unpredictable, quickly turned to Damon to avoid further confrontation. "I just remembered there are some work matters I haven’t finished. I need to leave now, so you can just hand over the work to me when you have a moment. Let’s call it a day."With that, he hurriedly exited, and Chriss