When the crowd dispersed, they left a cake and a table full of dishes and snacks behind.Marianne’s eyes were still red, and she was lost in her thoughts as she looked at the table that was full and piled high with dishes. Charlie looked at her and asked softly, “You’re missing your mother?”Marianne came back to her senses and nodded gently. A bean-sized tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly wiped the tear away as she said, “I always miss her so much whenever it’s my birthday...”Having said that, she quickly smiled, looked at Charlie, stretched out her hand, and said in a playful tone, “Give me a birthday present! Anything will do.”Charlie said embarrassedly, “Look at this surprise. I didn’t even know that it was your birthday today, so I didn’t prepare anything in advance...”Marianne smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter. Anything will do. It’s fine even if you just give me a coin.”Charlie thought for a while and asked her, “Do you want one of the divine pills that ca
However, Dillion had been out the entire afternoon, and he had not come back even after it had become so late. He could not get through to Dillion’s phone either, so this made him very anxious. Over the recent years, as Rudy’s business had grown bigger and bigger, he had actually wanted to stay away from the Order of the Star as much as he could. However, Solomon was also a witty and experienced person, and he did not want to be cast aside by Rudy after he was done using him to his own advantage. Rudy also realized that Solomon was treating him like a cash cow, just like how he used to regard Solomon as his backer to support him, and Solomon was not willing to let go of him no matter what it was.Therefore, Rudy could only try his best to find a way to stabilize Solomon. Solomon had recently made a lot of money in the business of smuggling frozen meat. Still, due to the lack of scale, he hoped that Rudy would be able to come forward to register an ocean shipping company for him
As Charlie and Marianne were almost done eating and starting to cut the cake, a group of subordinates from the Order of the Star had already found Dillion’s Rolls-Royce in the underground parking lot in Tsim Tsa Tsui.At that time, when Dillion, Wester, and the others were tailing Charlie and Marianne, Dillion had thought that he was being smart by not driving his Rolls-Royce. After all, his Rolls-Royce would be too eye-catching as a target. He was afraid that Charlie would discover them in advance. However, at this moment, Dillion, who was lying in Marianne’s car trunk, would never have dreamt that Charlie had already noticed them long before they had set off.When the subordinates from the Order of the Star found Dillion’s Rolls-Royce, they retrieved the surveillance camera footage from the underground parking lot while reporting this matter to Solomon as they planned to look for clues after Dillion had left.At this time, an anxious Rudy also came to Solomon’s house to await an
After saying that, he said to the two of them, “Mr. Star, Mr. Brown, I’ll take my leave first. I will definitely inform both of you as soon as there is any news!”Mr. Lanyon turned around and left. When Solomon saw Rudy’s anxious expression, he comforted him and said, “Rudy, you don’t have to worry too much. I believe that no one in Hong Kong would dare to do anything to them.”Rudy said with a wry expression, “Godfather, to tell you the truth, even if Wester is innocent, I am afraid that there will be other people who are desperate and wants money more than their life who would kidnap Dillion for ransom!”Solomon waved his hand and said, “Rudy, it does not matter even if Dillion has been kidnapped by people from outside. Mr. Lanyon is a three-star martial artist whom I hired with a lot of money. With him around, if anyone dares to do any harm to Dillion, I will make sure that he will not even be able to die in peace!” Rudy was surprised and asked, “A three-star martial artist?!
Rudy knew that he definitely would have to fork out a large sum of money again this time.However, his son was missing now, and he still had to count on Solomon’s help. So, he could only ask respectfully, “Godfather, just tell me what kind of help you need from me. I will definitely do my best as long as I can help.”Solomon nodded in satisfaction and sighed as he said, “Rudy, you really are the best at repaying kindness!” Having said that, he sighed and said again, “Oh! Lately, there has been a slight improvement in my business of smuggling frozen meat. However, this business is not as easy as I had imagined. This is particularly so because the loss of frozen meat is too great when it first arrived. The anti-smuggling department has been keeping a close eye on this area, and we lost a lot of goods. So, I want you to help me register an ocean shipping company. With your reputation, there must be a lot of room for this ocean shipping company to operate in Oskia, and you can also hel
Rudy had not agreed to it, and Bryce had released a message to teach him a lesson.However, at that time, Bryce had never wanted to kill him. He simply wanted to take an arm from him. At that time, when Rudy had asked Solomon for his help, he had not wanted Solomon to kill Bryce at all. He simply wanted Solomon to come forward to help him reconcile things so that Bryce would stay away from him.However, Solomon had made his own decision to kill Bryce directly. After that, Solomon had then thrown Bryce’s body into the foundation at the overpass construction site. Since then, Solomon would always bring up Bryce’s death whenever he needed Rudy’s help. The subtext was nothing more than a warning to Rudy that he had such information that he could use against Rudy in his hands. Rudy had not been afraid at all in the beginning. After all, it was Solomon who had killed Bryce, while he himself had never said that he wanted Solomon to kill Bryce.However, Solomon was a sly old man, and
As Mr. Lanyon was leading a group over to Saffron Ridge, Marianne was driving her Tesla and brought Charlie to Lan Kwai Fong. After the car was parked in front of ClubWaves, Marianne asked Charlie again, “Are you sure you really want to go in?”Charlie nodded and said, “We’re already here, so at the very least, I have to go in and take a seat.” After saying that, Charlie prepared to push the car door open and get out of the car.Marianne took Charlie’s hand in a hurry and said nervously, “Charlie, think it over again. The Brown family and the Order of the Star must be looking for Dillion and his subordinates’ whereabouts at this moment. As long as they search Saffron Ridge, they will know that we are the ones who took Dillion away. At that time, they will definitely be looking for our whereabouts all over Hong Kong. We still have time if we run now, but if we go in, it will be difficult for us to get out.”Charlie smiled lightly and said, “Don’t be afraid. It’s your birthday tod
Therefore, this also made her even more curious about Charlie’s true identity.The waitress soon came over diligently with the POS machine. After helping Charlie swipe his card, she immediately reported three big news to her manager. The first news was that the famous Marianne had actually come to their shop.The second news was that the man who came with her was unexpectedly holding a black gold card.And the third news was that Marianne seemed to be in a relationship with that man. When the manager heard about this, he instructed the waitress to serve Charlie well. At the same time, he also subconsciously took out his cell phone and prepared to call Dillion, who was the young master of the Brown family. Everyone knew that Dillion had been pursuing Marianne for a long time, but now, it seemed that Marianne already had a boyfriend. Therefore, he planned to report this news to Dillion as soon as possible.However, when he called Dillion, he found that he could not get throug
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