When Yolden heard Autumn’s words, it took him a while to recover from his surprise. He subconsciously blurted out, “You don’t like girls?! If you don’t like girls, could it be that you actually like boys, then?!”Autumn did not expect that her father would still look so shocked after hearing her reply. So, she could not help but ask, “Dad… do you think that I should like boys or girls, then?”Yolden immediately looked very pleased, and he was incessantly happy as he said, “From my point of view as your father, of course I think that it would be better for you to like boys!”After he was done speaking, Yolden hurriedly looked at Charlie before he blurted out, “Charlie, forget about that girl named Sophie. You should see if there are any suitable and talented young men around you. If there is one, you should introduce him to Autumn!”Charlie smiled faintly, nodded, and said, “Okay, sure! I’ll pay more attention to it, then.”Autumn had an awkward expression on her face as she said
...Meanwhile, at the Schulz family villa in Sudbury.Cadfan felt more or less nervous because he had not received any response from Sheldon at all.Logically speaking, Sheldon was supposed to go and meet up with Yahiko this morning. Since it was already after lunchtime now, regardless of whether Sheldon’s discussion with Yahiko had proceeded well or not, Sheldon should have given Cadfan a progress report.So, Cadfan took out his cell phone and called Sheldon.A cold prompt sounded over the other end of the line: “Sorry. The number that you have dialed has been switched off.”Cadfan immediately felt that something was amiss!“Oh, no!” He blurted out, “Sheldon must have met with a mishap!”The butler, Arrington, quickly took out his cell phone before he spoke up, “I’ll call Mr. Sheldon’s subordinates.”After he was done speaking, he immediately made the phone call. Very soon, he also received the prompt that the cell phone had already been switched off.The expression on his f
As soon as Jeremiah hung up the phone, his first thought was to call Isaac immediately to question him about what was going on.Stephen, who was by his side, hurriedly asked, “Lord Wade, what happened?”Jeremiah said emotionally, “Sheldon Schulz disappeared in Aurous Hill today. Moreover, he was at Shangri-La before he went missing. So, Cadfan Schulz called me to question and condemn me for his son’s disappearance. I’ll have to call Isaac Cameron and ask him what is going on first!”Stephen was dumbfounded, and he blurted out, “Sheldon Schulz is also missing?! Steven Schulz disappeared just a few days ago, in Aurous Hill too. He also seemed to have gone missing without a trace when he was still in the hotel…”Jeremiah sighed before he said, “It’s easy to deal with Steven Schulz’s matter. After all, he did not go missing when he was in our territory. So, his life and death have nothing to do with us. However, Sheldon Schulz’s matter this time is more or less tricky. No matter what i
“He is the kind of person who would have to deal with you and teach you a proper lesson as long as you provoke him. Moreover, he knows very well that if he cannot deal with you for the time being, he would use underhanded methods to deal with you behind the scenes, then. Anyway, no matter what it is, his only purpose is to just deal with you.”“Besides, he does not have as many constraints or concerns in his eyes.”As he spoke about this, Jeremiah chuckled as he said, “For instance, what happened between Carmen and Charlie. So what if Carmen is his biological aunt? Carmen looked down on him, and she did not have any respect for his marriage at all. When she went to Aurous Hill, she bypassed him to meet with Elaine, and Carmen was very arrogant and bossy toward Elaine when she tried to meddle in Charlie’s marriage. Charlie was actually able to detain Carmen for more than half a month so that she could suffer a little in Aurous Hill.”After he was done speaking, Jeremiah shook his hea
Jeremiah truly did not expect Charlie to admit it in such a straightforward manner.Jeremiah was slightly caught off guard because of Charlie’s sudden frankness.A moment later, Jeremiah subconsciously held his wrist with his other hand as he sighed, “Charlie, you must be mad!”Charlie frowned. “Why am I mad?”Jeremiah said emotionally, “You shouldn’t have attacked Sheldon Schulz! Think about it. He is the eldest son of the Schulz family, and he disappeared in Shangri-La. How can the Wade family possibly get away with this?” Charlie asked Jeremiah in return, “Why? Did Cadfan Schulz look for you?”“That’s right!” Jeremiah looked extremely worried and anxious as he said, “Cadfan Schulz called me to yell at me, and he even said that he would certainly go all out to fight it out with the Wade family! You should know that both of our families have always fought verbally, but never physically. Now that we have gone against the rules this time, the Schulz family will certainly retaliat
Jeremiah felt extremely helpless. “This… what is the point of this child-like sophistry?”Charlie said with a severe countenance, “I’m not using sophistry. In fact, the actual situation is that Sheldon Schulz did not check into Shangri-La at all. Moreover, his name is not in the check-in information, and there is no record of him entering the hotel on the surveillance camera. Do you understand me?”Jeremiah hurriedly asked him, “Did you erase all the surveillance camera records of him checking into the hotel?”“No.” Charlie replied indifferently, “His initial reason for staying in this hotel was so that he could secretly approach Ito Yahiko. However, he was afraid that the people working at Shangri-La would find out about this true identity. So, he asked his subordinate to come over and check into the room. After that, he disguised himself to bypass the surveillance camera so that he could secretly stay here. Therefore, he naturally did not leave his check-in information behind.”“
Charlie saw that Jeremiah did not seem to have his previous worries anymore. So, he spoke up, “If there is nothing else, I’ll hang up first. I’m also tired from my journey. I’d like to take a good rest.”Jeremiah hurriedly said, “Alright! Okay, you should take a good rest first. I’ll not bother you anymore!”Charlie was about to hang up the phone when he suddenly recalled something. So, he spoke up, “Oh! By the way, I plan to engage in the ocean shipping business. In the future, the Wade family will not try to snatch this industry from me, right?”“What?” Jeremiah exclaimed, “You want to engage in the ocean shipping business?”“Yes.” Charlie replied indifferently, “I’m already in the midst of my preparation. I’ll inform you as soon as my project starts. At that time, I’ll take over the market shares released by the Schulz family. In addition, I hope that the Wade family will not come and interfere in the business market to the south of the Yaak River.”Jeremiah hesitated for a mom
Arrington spoke up, “Could they be doing this intentionally, as a disguise?”“A disguise?” Cadfan was even more surprised as he spoke up, “It is entirely meaningless for them to engage in this kind of disguise, right? It’s even more ridiculous to reveal what a person is intending to hide…”Just as Cadfan was feeling extremely puzzled, Jeremiah’s phone call came.Cadfan hurriedly answered the call as he blurted out, “Jeremiah Wade, where the hell is my son?!”Jeremiah replied coldly, “Cadfan Schulz, how would I know where your son is?”Cadfan cursed, “Are you really going to act like a hooligan in front of me?! My son disappeared when he was at Shangri-La! And you’re f*cking telling me that you do not know?!”Jeremiah warned him immediately, “Cadfan Schulz, you had better stop making up all these unfounded claims! You said that your son disappeared at Shangri-La. So, I asked my men to check all of the occupancy and check-in information at Shangri-La, but Sheldon Schulz’s name did
Ares LLP was the biggest law firm in the States, and only the best of the best were recruited as associates.If Jimmy got to pick ten of their partners, he was basically taking a huge chunk out of their human resources.Moreover, the partners' salaries would be very expensive. With Jimmy included, eleven of them meant over a hundred million US dollars at minimum. Ares would definitely be maimed if they had to pay that much money while losing ten of their elites! Naturally, Jimmy didn't feel confident about achieving that, and he asked Charlie, "Mr. Wade… Don't you think it's too much? Would Nate even agree to that?"Charlie shrugged. "Of course he won't agree if you're the one asking, but he would definitely say yes if it were Julien."Julien almost rolled his eyes.The man was truly ruthless, ready to inflict so much damage at the drop of a hat.Worst of all, he was going to play the villain for Charlie.Still, he said confidently, "Don't worry, Mr. Wade! I will pressure him
However, Jimmy realized something important even as he sighed in relief. "Wait, Mr. Wade… I know I should settle things in the family Stateside, but won't I be arrested upon arrival?""That's Julien's department," Charlie chuckled and turned toward the man. "Tell your butler not to send the evidence to the feds. If it has reached them already, ask to have it back and tell the feds they saw nothing."Julien promptly nodded. "I'll text him right now. You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Wade."Jimmy remained worried. "But sir, I think Nate's not going to let this slide. The man is cunning—he deliberately dug a pit so we'd fall into it, and he gathered all the dirt he could on us to be used as leverage when necessary."Charlie shook his head. "That's no big deal. Julien can make sure that you're fine even if the feds get the evidence."Julien nodded nearby. "Don't worry, Mr. Wade. The decision remains in your hands, either way. Just say the word, and it's 25 to life… otherwise, not e
The fact that Jimmy was a partner in Ares LLP already meant he had skill, while Matilda had herself been retired for years and definitely had lost her touch a little. So, having someone like Jimmy who had stayed on the frontlines all this while would definitely be no issue.And in turn, it was a good thing for Jimmy as it was better than the kennels either way.Charlie then asked Jimmy pointedly, "You say you're interested, but are you sincere about it?"Jimmy nodded without hesitation. "Yes, absolutely!""No regrets? We're talking about ten years here.""None, absolutely none!""Do you know what to say if anyone asks?""Yes, of course! I chose to further my career here in Oskia, and it was absolutely voluntary! That's what I'd say even if my family asked!"Charlie nodded. "Good. Then, you will have two weeks. Go home and set your affairs in order and report in for work afterward.""No problem!" Jimmy nodded repeatedly, actually surprised and grateful that Charlie would let hi
And yet, Julien was suddenly clapping his hands, and exclaiming excitedly, "Yes, right! We should get his wife and son over too for a happy reunion!"He then paused and quickly corrected himself, "Wait, no! I mean, they should each be caged with one empty cage separating each of their cages. They can see each other and talk, but there will be no touching. How dare he flex on me—I gotta teach him a lesson to remember!"Jimmy dropped limply on his rump, and Matilda beckoned for Paul to help him up while turning toward Julien as she pursed her lips. "Please, Mr. Rothschild… Even if you don't accept his apology, don't bring his family into this. It's against Oskian tradition—you'd insult your family's name!"Julien shrugged, not hesitating to retort, "What do your traditions have to do with me? If I mean to hurt him, forget his family—I'll drag his dogs over too!"Seeing that Julien was so furious, Charlie decided to stop him, or he might actually go through with it."That's enough, J
Holding up a thumb at Charlie, Julien exclaimed in approval, "You're right, my friend! That's far more exciting than having him jailed!"Just hearing that he would be sent to a kennel, Jimmy knew nothing would come of it—even if he didn't know the details, it was so obvious that Julien was thrilled by the very idea!Turning nervously toward Charlie, he was sobbing as he asked, "Mr. Wade…? What's this about a kennel…?"Julien chuckled coolly even before Charlie said a word. "A kennel is where you keep dogs, of course. Though there are literal dogs and metaphorical dogs, and you are the latter."Oh, don't worry. It's a really nice place where you get your own cage, and you'll be fed every day. You don't even have to work, so just sit tight and keep eating until the day you die."Jimmy's soul left his body in that instant.He was going to be locked in a cage?! That was way worse than being locked up and sent to jail! Where was the humanity around here?!Even as the thought struck h
Matilda was actually caught off guard by Jimmy's pleas, and even Paul found it hard to watch.Turning to Charlie, he said, "Please, Mr. Wade—my uncle can be a little despicable, but he is my father's brother. Please, let him have a chance to turn over a new leaf, seeing that he's earnestly repenting."While Paul spoke with Charlie, Jimmy was still confused and wondered why Paul would plead his case with Charlie instead of Julien. If there was anyone Paul should ask, it was Yolden since he was Julien's friend. So, why would he ask some young man instead of Yolden?That was when Charlie asked in curiosity, "You want to let him off? After he tried to take away your parents' legacy?"Paul smiled awkwardly. "I mean, I know the guy. He made sure to travel all this way to make a scene because he had nothing legal that could help him claim Smith Group Corporate Law from us. Otherwise, he'd have already filed the lawsuit in the States. Sure, it's a dirty move, but that's basically a des
As Julien finished, he realized something was wrong and turned toward Charlie before he knew it.Charlie held his gaze in turn, his expression quizzical and amused.Julien cleared his throat right then. "See, there are people who can order me around, but they have my utmost respect. However, a third-rate lawyer like you? Who do you think you are?"That was when Julien's butler called, and he reported respectfully as soon as the call was answered, "Sir, I've spoken with Nate Ellis, the owner of Ares LLC. He has since agreed to fire Jimmy Smith right away as well as disbar him nationwide."Julien asked, "Good. Anything else?""Well, Mr. Ellis also delivered some documents that can be used as evidence against Jimmy Smith, which he claims is enough for a lifetime sentence. If you deem it necessary, we can have it sent to the FBI.""Yes, let's go with that!" Julien replied, his tone satisfied. "And ask the director to handle it personally—I want this prick to never set foot stateside
Jimmy was sweating profusely in fear, but he argued back before he knew it, "That's impossible! Everything you say is bullshit! Gaiman simply thought he had a fair chance of winning and didn't want to pay Ares that much, and I have no idea who he partnered with, and I'm certainly not involved. Don't you try to slander me!"Nate chuckled. "Come on, Jimmy. We're all adults here, so there are things we shouldn't have to be so direct about. Mills Gaiman and your old classmate met in private many times, not to mention the private conferences you three had in secret, discussing your overall strategy and decisive points. Just so you know, Gaiman recorded every conversation, and I have the tapes with me."Jimmy's heart was left pounding as he blurted, "B-Bullshit! That's impossible!""Grow up, Jimmy," Mr.Goodman chuckled. "Every partner in every law firm always strives to rise higher, so I'm going to need as much leverage as I can. Otherwise, I'm not about to let them advance any further, e
Although the ringtone and vibration frequency were the ones Jimmy always used, this call somehow felt more urgent, leaving him exceedingly uneasy.When it abruptly stopped and left a missed call on his log, Nate Ellis soon sent a text: [Answer your damn phone this instant!]Just seeing the text left Jimmy feeling like his throat had gone dry, and as he gulped, it felt like his throat was being ripped, leaving him hurting.Still, he couldn't care less as his boss called again.Having seen the text, Jimmy didn't hesitate this time and promptly answered, watching Julien's smug face as he started tentatively, "Y-Yes, boss...?"Nate immediately yelled at him hysterically, "What the hell did you do?! Why did the Rothschilds call to complain about you?! And the complaint was from their heir apparent, at that! I worked hard for them and always toed the line for years, and I still haven't gotten a chance to meet the man, so how the fuck did you upset him?!"Jimmy's heart sank to rock bott