Upon hearing Jeremiah’s remarks, all the Wade family members looked at each other in bewilderment, feeling as though he was talking about a fairytale rather than a statement.By comparison, the Schulz family’s net worth was about 20% higher than the Wade family, which wasn’t very significant at first glance.However, because the actual amount of net worth of these two families was so large, the 20% difference in monetary value was incredibly huge.If the Wade family wanted to overtake the Schulz family, their assets would have to increase by at least several hundred billion.The Schulz family was already stronger than the Wade family in terms of volume, and naturally, they were growing faster than the Wade family. Consequently, the Schulz family was slowly widening the gap with the Wade family.It was not only difficult to rise against the current and catch up with the Schulz family, but it almost sounded like a fantasy.Jeremiah looked at the silent crowd and sighed. “Twenty ye
As soon as Jeremiah said this, the entire audience gaped in astonishment!Curtis’s son... wasn’t that Charlie?!In reality, back when Jeremiah had asked Stephen to purchase the Emgrand Group in Aurous Hill and give it to Charlie, even extending an invitation to welcome Charlie back to the family, everyone knew that Charlie was still alive.Apart from Jeremiah, everyone else was very wary of Charlie and even repelled him, fearing that he would return to Eastcliff and compete with them for the Wade family’s inheritance and power.Fortunately, Charlie had refused Stephen’s request and did not return to the Wade family, so everyone had been relieved and gradually put their guards down.However, even if Charlie decided not to return, everyone was still very agitated by the fact that Jeremiah had spent hundreds of billions on buying him the Emgrand Group.Although the Wade family’s assets exceeded a trillion dollars, they were a very large family.Jeremiah had four sons and two daught
Even Jeremiah was dumbfounded.Stephen started in a cold voice, “I’ve never thought about getting Mr. Charlie back to Eastcliff. I’m just telling you objectively that Mr. Charlie is no less inferior to his father, who was so influential in Eastcliff back in those days. As for the marriage arrangement, it was Lord Wade who proposed it, not me!”“Moreover, calm down. I can assure you that Mr. Charlie has no intention of coming back at all. With my understanding of him, even if I kneel and beg him, he will not come back, let alone abandon his wife to marry the Schulz family’s descendant!”Everyone heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that.He didn’t want to come back? That would be awesome!Jeremiah’s eyes narrowed. After pondering for a while, he said seriously, “Actually, I think if Charlie comes back, he might really succeed in marrying Sophie.”“Impossible!” Clayton blurted, “The Schulz family is so prestigious and prominent, they might not even be interested in Felix, who is so
Just as the Wade family members had their own ax to grind and were thinking of a reason they should use to convince Jeremiah to give up this idea, Jeremiah slapped the table and said excitedly, “Well, if Charlie agrees to this arrangement, I think it can be done!”Clayton hurriedly said, “Father, Charlie is already married! Do you think the Schulz family would marry their precious daughter to a man who has been married before? Even if Charlie gets divorced, he’ll bear the title of a divorcee!”Jeremiah said indifferently, “As long as he has invincible charm, no one can resist him even if he is a three-time divorcee or is still married. Did you know how many girls from wealthy families in Eastcliff were willing to become Curtis’s mistress even though he was married? They didn’t mind Mrs. Wade’s title as long as they could be with him. That was Curtis’s charm!”Clayton huffed with disappointment in his tone, “Father! Times have changed! The youngsters nowadays are so self-centered and
This was completely unacceptable for all of Charlie’s cousins!At this moment, everyone began to plan a countermeasure out of desperation.Jeremiah, on the other hand, was feeling at ease and delighted. He was absolutely certain that the opportunity for the Wade family to take off and succeed was in Charlie’s hands. This instantly cleared up the doubts that had been plaguing him for the past four years and made him feel extremely relieved.He laughed out loud, stood up, and said in a cheerful voice, “Alright, that’s it for today. Dismissed!”Everyone donned a complex expression, but no one dared to say anything against Jeremiah’s orders. They had their own ax to grind, and most of them had not anticipated Charlie’s high-profile return to the Wade family.After the meeting, as soon as Stephen returned to his office and sat down, he received a call from Charlie.Delighted, he hurriedly answered the call and asked respectfully, “Mr. Charlie, glad to hear from you. What’s the occasio
The Tea Time Room was divided into three sections—the front yard, middle yard, and backyard, all of which were typical antique wooden buildings with a built-in stage inside where people often came to listen to live bands or stand-up comedy.The front and middle yards were open to the public where the members of the teahouse could enjoy the facilities, but the back yard was closed to the public. This was Stephen’s private territory which was extremely confidential.Stephen graciously invited Charlie and Quinn into the private parlor in the backyard.Once inside, Stephen immediately dismissed all the service staff and personally invited Charlie and Quinn to sit down on the sofa and made a pot of tea for them with his precious limited-edition tea set.After serving the fragrant tea to the two of them, Stephen said, unable to conceal his excitement, “Mr. Charlie, I didn’t expect to see you in Eastcliff, let alone with Miss Golding…”Frankly, Stephen had long hoped that Charlie would b
Charlie could just take the Rejuvenating Pill out and give it to Stephen if he wanted to. However, he stated a condition where he would give it to Stephen when he needed it the most to gain Stephen’s trust and reliability.It was not because he had any doubts about Stephen in any way, but he felt that there was nothing wrong with being cautious under any kind of circumstances.With the Rejuvenating Pill as bait, Stephen would definitely be more loyal to him.As expected, upon hearing this, Stephen startled in awestruck and said gratefully, “Mr. Charlie, I’m really glad to hear you say this. I swear, I dedicate my life to you, and I’m willing to go through all kinds of treacherous routes for you!”Stephen was not only a loyal man but also an intelligent one.Although he had no idea what the Rejuvenating Pill was, he was able to get a glimpse of it through Yule’s current condition.First of all, the magical elixir that Charlie had mentioned must be the miracle drug that could cure
Stephen managed a bitter smile when he heard Charlie’s question and said forlornly, “Mr. Charlie, the vast majority of people in the world is ungrateful and often take things for granted. Only when in need of others will they cling to them and enjoy the benefits and support that is blessed to them, but once they don’t need help, they will turn the other way and even, in turn, blame those who helped them, just to steal their limelight…”At this point, Stephen said in a rather dejected tone, “When your father led these families to fight the Rothschild family, they all sucked up to him, so much so that they even took the initiative to establish an Eastcliff Business Alliance and elected your father as the first chairman of the alliance…”“But after your father had defeated the Rothschild family, they immediately disbanded the alliance and even slandered your father’s reputation by accusing him of failing to manage and secure an absolute victory against the Rothschild family. There were
Naturally, Jimmy couldn't care less about Julien's suggestion, even looking at him pointedly from head to toe while smirking in contempt, "What, do you think I'd just do what any nutjob tells me to do just because they're claiming to be the Rothschilds' heir apparent?"Julien nodded, still smiling. "Good point, but don't worry—it's the same whether you call him or he calls you."Jimmy laughed. "I was offering you a way out, but you want to keep pressing your luck? Since you don't care to back off, let's see how you're going to finish this fight."Then, he shrugged while pointing at Yolden. "Well, it's the perfect chance to measure Matilda's husband, I guess."Based on what he saw of Yolden, there was no way he would buy Julien's claims, and thus labeled him an impostor in his mind.An ordinary lecturer in Aurous Hill, being friends with the Rothschilds' heir apparent? Not to mention that there had been plenty of fraudulent cases outside the States where the Rothschild name was use
Jimmy was taken aback since he didn't recognize Julien at all, mainly because the Rothschilds had always kept out of the public eye.In fact, it was basically impossible to gather genuine information about the Rothschilds online, as it was a mix of press releases and gossip. Most online biographies would only be about the older generations or certain frivolous figures. Any information about key members like Steve would never be searchable online.Matilda was confused as well, not quite understanding who Julien was since he wasn't on the list of guests invited.Seeing that she was confused, Julien turned and smiled at Yolden, "So, Professor, shouldn't you introduce me to the bride?"Yolden finally remembered that and quickly nodded, "Sorry, it slipped my mind."Turning toward Matilda, he smiled, "Darling, this is Julien Rothschild… A friend of mine from the states…"Julien's full name left everyone within earshot gaping as the Rothschild name was way too famous across the globe.
Seeing that Jimmy was getting a little nervous, Charlie smiled and assured him, "Please, you have nothing to worry about. No one's going to do anything to you, but if you feel threatened in any way, you can call the cops. The Oskian emergency hotline is 110, by the way."Jimmy was slightly relieved as he could see that Charlie really wasn't trying to make things awkward for him, and he straightened his collar as he said, "Actually, I didn't mean to cause trouble—I'm pleased that Matilda has found true love once more, and if we can be friends, I can set aside my claim and stay for the rest of this wedding, offering the newlyweds our best wishes as a representative of my family."Still, his expression showed contempt as he turned toward Yolden. "Also, I'm really curious and looking forward to seeing what connections Professor Hart might have that you say could be better than Bill.""You'll see soon enough," Charlie smiled and nodded.Jimmy remained skeptical and scoffed, "I really do
If Charlie really did get Jimmy to stay, who knew what other rubbish Jimmy would spout.As for Jimmy, he was actually surprised Charlie was asking him to stay, and his instincts told him that Charlie definitely didn't mean well.Not only that, he was on foreign soil—wouldn't he be defenseless if Charlie called in his friends to beat him up?Hence, he shook his head without hesitation as he said, "I'm sorry, but my sister-in-law is quite keen for me to leave, so I have no reason to stay and add to her problems. And it is her big day. I can afford to let her save face instead of spilling the beans on her all at once.""Oh, but you were complaining about the lack of important people just now!" Charlie quickly interjected. "It just so happens that we have a big-shot on his way here, and he's a good friend of the groom. When I told him about you over the phone, he said to keep you here no matter what it took, since he would like to talk to you face to face."Jimmy frowned. "What, are y
And with those words, Jimmy turned to leave.Despite threatening Matilda, there was no such agreement, and he knew that Matilda was well aware of that.Regardless, the only strategy he had in mind when he came to Oskia was harassment. As such, he simply came up with a lie to make Matilda look bad in public. All it took from there was just for one person to relay what he had said—even if it were all lies, Matilda's character would still be called into question.He made himself very clear so that Matilda would understand that if she didn't give in, his family would keep hounding her to take their two pounds of flesh. Even if she wouldn't surrender the stateside estates and human resources of Smith Group Corporate Law, they would still claim a sizable chunk.But if that failed too, they would just have to destroy Matilda's reputation along with Smith Group Corporate Law.Either way, they were not letting her off easy!And reading that much from Jimmy's behavior, Matilda snapped co
Jimmy didn't expect Matilda to break down the share ownership of Smith Group Corporate Law to such detail, and he hollered as he was starting to feel embarrassed, "Now, you're just being irresponsible, Matilda. My father gave my brother a million to start the law firm in the first place, and they had agreed that the family would have a stake, albeit only at 49%, to not deny your decision-making as a startup. Or are you denying it?"Matilda immediately became furious and snapped, "Bullshit! That was just a loan of one million, and the agreed term was three years. However, your brother returned it in one! I even asked him to return the money with every single one of his siblings watching, since you might all get skeptical, yet suddenly, you're calling it an investment?""You said he's returned it? Well, what proof do you have?" Jimmy quickly shot back. "Our entire family can testify that the money hasn't come back to us!""So, this is how you're going to play it?" Matilda smirked. "Th
In the first place, Jimmy had come to Oskia to claim a stake in Smith Group Corporate Law, ideally strong-arming Paul and Matilda into splitting the firm in two, with Jimmy taking everything in the States while Paul kept what was left.The way Jimmy saw it, Paul and Matilda were going to be permanently residing in Oskia anyway. There was no way they could manage things over in another country properly, so it was basically returning the firm to the rightful owner.Naturally, Jimmy also knew that despite bearing the Smith family name, the success of Smith Group Corporate Law was all the work of Jimmy's brother and Matilda. Jimmy's father had helped to a certain extent, but that extent of financial support wouldn't amount to an investment at all. No judge in the world would support his claim to the law firm's shares.Therefore, when he learned that Matilda was remarrying, he thought he could seize the moment to cause a scene. Nothing could be better if she and Paul decided to sacrifice
Jimmy deliberately raised his voice as he said coolly, "Oh, but I didn't want to intervene. It's you and your mother who left the States in a split second, taking with you the law firm which bears the Smith family name. Don't you think such behavior is inappropriate?"Seeing the surprised reactions of the guests, Paul promptly retorted, "The law firm uses the Smith family name, but it is my parents' legacy! They worked blood and sweat to build it from the ground up, and as their only son, I have a veto when it comes to decisions. Or did we need your permission to move to Oskia?""Where's your conscience, Paul?" Jimmy pursed his lips. "Even if you don't know how Smith Group Corporate Law was founded, is that the case for you? It would have been a joke if it weren't for my father's connections!"Hell, it's no exaggeration that it was my father who fought to expand the law firm across America, and just using the family name means you're borrowing the family's influence. The family hono
The blonde man's voice drew everyone's attention in an instant.Despite his foreign appearance, he spoke Oskian fluently and walked with a haughty gait, almost as though he was above the rest.Paul's expression turned grim the instant he saw him, and he hurried over with Charlie.Still, before Paul could speak, Charlie stopped him, frowning at the man as he said, "Don't you think it's inappropriate to come slinging personal attacks at someone else's wedding?"The man clearly didn't know Charlie, and he wasn't worried, seeing that he was young.Snorting in disdain, he asked, "You must be from the groom's family, yes? Please tell him that he doesn't deserve my sister-in-law.""It's up to the happy couple to decide that," Charlie retorted quietly. "Deserving someone is no issue as long as they both love each other."The man pursed his lips and looked pointedly around him. "Just look at how simple this wedding is. Forget picking an unassuming city like Aurous Hill—is there a single