Jarvis paid close attention to everyone in the room as he announced, “To ensure everyone’s safety, I would like to request everyone to hand me your personal belongings. We are going to perform a safety check for safety reasons.”Christian asked, “What do we need to turn in?”“Everything.” Jarvis stopped beating around the bush and cut to the case. He added with a serious look, “Please turn in all your personal belongings. For the men, please stand to the left. For the ladies, please stand to the right. Open your hands and put them on your chest. We will arrange for someone of the same gender to search you.”Keith frowned upon hearing that. “Sir, are you suspecting that this is an insider job? That the mole is among us?”Jarvis put his hand together and replied sternly, “Sir, I’m acting under orders. Everyone, please cooperate. Please forgive me if I have offended you.”Kaeden was annoyed. Disgruntled, he grumbled, “Sir, you’re suspecting us for no reason and demanded a search out
The sudden death of Adrienne caught everyone off guard. Her sixteen-year-old daughter nearly collapsed on the spot from sheer shock. She hugged her mother’s body and shook the latter desperately, crying, “Mom…? What’s wrong…? Don’t scare me…!” Jaxson, too, was on the verge of collapse. He wanted to step forward to investigate, but his second brother Kaeden stopped him. Jaxson looked back at Kaeden with a shocked look. Instantly, he growled, “Kaeden, why are you stopping me? Something’s happened to Adrienne!”Kaeden roared with a dark face, “Look at how she died! Do you remember how that assailant’s leader committed suicide by taking poison?!”“Suicide...” Jaxson was horrified. He blurted out in a tone of shock, “Y-You… Are you saying that Adrienne committed suicide by taking poison?”Kaeden pointed to the corpse and demanded coldly, “Is there any other possibilities other than suicide?!”Jarvis immediately rushed forward and picked up Charlie’s third aunt. He said to everyone,
As he thought of that, Charlie asked Jarvis, “Mr. Yant, did you pay attention to the Acker family’s reaction? Can you tell me who she is?”Jarvis thought about it and said quickly, “There was a man, I think it was her husband. The younger man called the other man Kaeden. I heard her call the woman’s name. I think it was Adrienne.”When Charlie heard this, he immediately understood that this dead woman was his third aunt. After all, the only ones who were younger than Kaeden were his third uncle Jaxson and youngest aunt Lulu.The dead woman’s identity was initially Charlie’s biggest fear. He feared that the dead woman might be his youngest aunt Lulu. It would mean that the Acker family had been infiltrated from within, and that was an unacceptable situation. Therefore, he was slightly relieved to hear that the dead woman was his third aunt.However, that relief wasn’t much. After all, third aunt Adrienne had been married to his third uncle Jaxon for at least a decade. Why would his
Charlie understood Kathleen’s concern. His identity would certainly be the Acker family’s focus, especially after today’s crisis and contact.With the Acker family’s strength, it was only a matter of time before they learned about his identity. They simply had to follow the clues to investigate and start with either Quinn or Kathleen.The Acker family would definitely figure out who he was through their investigations, so Charlie must intimidate them from looking into him. His goal wasn’t to dampen the family’s ability to investigate him, rather, he wanted to scare them from daring to attempt it. With that in mind, he instructed Kathleen, “After you get the Ackers to safety, make sure you tell them… Oh, no. Make sure you warn them not to investigate my identity in any way. Tell them I’m a man of honor, and that I don’t like to be known. I don’t like anyone sniffing into my origins, either. Otherwise, the consequences they will face will be at their own risk.” Kathleen hesitated f
This was the lowest point in life for the Acker family. Everyone was drowning in sadness and grief. Charlie’s third uncle Jaxson was the most devastated.He couldn’t understand why his wife turned out to be a member of the enemy. His perception of family and love was collapsing at this very moment.Meanwhile, his daughter was still overwhelmed by the sudden death of her mother. Her youngest aunt, Lulu, held her in her arms and comforted her.Kaeden, who was most similar to Keith, was clenching his fists and trembling violently.After a long silence, he announced to his family, “Think about it carefully. It’s been nearly one or two decades since our whole family gathered outside. Almost everyone in the family is here except for Dominic…”Keith nodded softly and said emotionally, “When we came here, we even took two planes just in case something happened to the whole family. We’re really too careless this time…”Holly wept and wailed remorsefully, “It’s all my fault…! I was the one
Kaeden’s words startled Charlie. Charlie had always wanted to find out about his parents’ murder back then, but he had always failed to find any concrete clues until now.When he heard Kaeden mentioning his mother, he cheered up immediately. He was also waiting for the members of the Acker family to follow up and reveal some inside stories to him.However, Lord Acker’s subsequent words dashed Charlie’s hopes. He said in a serious tone, “No clues have been found about your sister and brother-in-law’s murder. I thought that it was the Rothschild family who was responsible for it at first, but there is no evidence to prove that the Rothschild family is directly related to this incident even after so long. You said that this matter might be related to your sister’s murder, but I do not understand why they are still not giving up after so long! Who on earth did your sister and brother-in-law offend back then? Why are they still deliberately planning to kill our whole family even after
Therefore, they immediately recognized Kathleen as soon as she entered the door.Upon entering the door, Kathleen said very politely to the old man, “Lord Acker, I am Kathleen Fox from the Fox family. I was entrusted by my benefactor to come over to help you this time. My benefactor said that you could call and contact your subordinates to come over for support first, and after determining an absolutely safe place, I will arrange for my men to escort you all the way there.”Kaeden asked in surprise, “Miss Fox, who is this benefactor that you’re talking about?! Is it the benefactor who saved us just now?!”Kathleen nodded and said, “Yes, it’s him.”Having said that, Kathleen then said again, “My benefactor asked me to come over and help deal with the scene and so, I brought my men over here urgently. Now that the outside has already been dealt with, you can also prepare to leave.”Lord Acker asked in a very polite tone, “Young girl, I would like to seize this opportunity to ask...
Ashley’s foresight was unparalleled in the entire Acker family.While designing the plans to build Ark Building, she had spent a lot of money to make the top floor indestructible.The top floor of Ark Building was made out of bulletproof glass of extremely high standards, and the passages and elevator shafts that led to the roof and downstairs were all equipped with physical partitions that were as strong as that of bank vaults. Once all the physical partitions were closed, the entire top floor could be described as impregnable. The impregnable design made it impossible for any individual weapon to enter the top floor from the roof, downstairs, or through the window. No one could enter unless the opponent dared to launch a gunship attack in New York City. Furthermore, Ark Building was located in the center of Manhattan and it was the most prosperous area in the whole of New York, and possibly even in the entire United States. In addition, after the 9/11 incident, the United State
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
Fuming, Jimmy snapped at Julien, "If you insist on playing it like that, I will call my boss, and you can talk to him yourself!"Julien chuckled. "That's unnecessary. I've never met him. He would never recognize my voice."Jimmy laughed and nodded despite himself. "Impressive—you can really come up with anything! You don't have his number because he's beneath you, you refuse to call him because he's beneath you, and when I say I'll call him for you, you say he won't recognize your voice. Well, how do you suppose we should sort this out? At least prove you're a Rothschild, or anyone could claim that they are—"Julien held up a hand to stop him. "Then, how about this? I'll ask my butler to talk to your boss."Jimmy laughed even more loudly as if it were the best joke ever. "Hahaha!!! Butler, you say?! You really know how to talk! Alright, I'll wait and see what your 'butler' can do… I mean, what you can do. We'll see whether my boss calls me!"Julien ignored him and whipped out his
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