Upon hearing Vera's words, Charlie instinctively looked at the black photo album in her hands. At first glance, it was clear that the album was quite old.In the past decade or so, with the rapid development of smartphones, ordinary people had unconsciously digitized all their image data. Fewer and fewer people purchased photo albums of various sizes and thicknesses as they did twenty years ago to categorize and organize all their photos.Charlie didn't know what exactly was in the album, so he took it from Vera's hands and carefully flipped the first page open. The first thing that caught his eye on the first page were two separate photos of two young people taken in front of the Statue of Liberty in the United States.The man in the photo bore a striking resemblance to Charlie, but his attire was relatively retro as the man was wearing the distinctive knit sweater and faded jeans typical of that era. This was Charlie's father, Curtis. The woman in the photo appeared to be around
Vera pointed to a sign with a postcode beside the shop door and said, “Young Master, this shop is in Queens, New York.”Charlie asked curiously, “Is that so? How did you figure that out? I can hardly make out the words on it with this resolution.”Vera explained, “I used to live in Queens. The size, color scheme, and location of this sign for the postal code are typical of Queens' style back then. I'm not sure if they still follow the same style now.”“New York…” Charlie nodded, suddenly remembering what his uncle had mentioned a few days ago. His parents had bought a set of antique books from an antique shop in New York. That set of antique books was none other than the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book.Coupled with the antique shop in the photo, Charlie suddenly remembered something and said to Vera, “This could very well be the antique shop where my father bought the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book!”Vera was also surprised and said eagerly, “The Preface to the Apocalyptic Book
Upon seeing this sentence, Vera immediately said, “Queens should be Queens, New York City. So, this photo was indeed taken in Queens. As for ‘Cole’, it seems the person in the photo with your father has the last name Cole, and he's of Oskian descent. It’s just that we don’t know his full name.”“You're right…” Charlie nodded gently as he continued furrowing his brows.He murmured, “I have a feeling that this man with the last name Cole seems familiar, but no matter how hard I try, I just can't remember where I've seen him before.”Vera hastened to say, “Don't worry, Young Master. The feeling of familiarity must come from somewhere in your memory. It's just that your memory of that person might not be very deep, or you may have only had a very brief encounter with him. So, don't worry. If you think carefully, you'll surely remember some clues.”With that said, she asked Charlie, “Apart from finding this person familiar, are there any other strange or familiar clues for you?”Charli
In the past, he thought that he was just purely fortunate to have obtained the Apocalyptic Book with a stroke of luck. Recently, however, his uncle had mentioned that his parents had once obtained the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book, and this led him to speculate that there might be a connection between the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book and the Apocalyptic Book itself, but he lacked concrete evidence. Now, he had suddenly discovered that the manager of Vintage Deluxe, named Raymond, was actually a good friend of his father from over twenty years ago. Moreover, it was Raymond himself who had delivered the jade vase to his father-in-law, Jacob.At that time, Charlie was waiting outside the VIP room while Raymond and Jacob were inside. Charlie hadn't witnessed what exactly had happened, but according to Jacob's account of the incident later, Raymond had taken the jade vase out of its exquisite packaging and handed it to Jacob. However, it had slipped from Jacob's hands and fell to th
With that said, Charlie asked again, “By the way, Jasmine, could you find some information about this person for me?”Jasmine replied, “I'll ask the current person in charge of Vintage Deluxe. The employee records from Vintage Deluxe are still stored in their computers. Vintage Deluxe wasn't initially registered under the Moore Group, so the employee records weren't merged into the Moore Group's personnel files, and management of the files isn’t as strict.”Charlie then said, “In that case, please ask for the information, and once you find it, send it to me as soon as possible.”“Okay, Master Wade!”After hanging up the phone, Charlie said to Vera, “When we get the information later, kindly send it to Mr. Sandsor and ask him to help check all the information relating to this person.”Vera replied without hesitation, “Rest assured, Young Master, I'll inform him right away.”Charlie nodded and anxiously waited with Vera for Jasmine's response.Jasmine was quite efficient. A few mi
Charlie felt like his brain had short-circuited at that moment. Now, it seemed highly likely that Raymond had been arranged to appear in Aurous Hill, and the person who arranged all this was probably his own father, who had passed away twenty years ago.This made Charlie feel a kind of inexplicable tension and pressure. What exactly had happened to his parents back then? Not only did it bring about fatal consequences, but it also involved such distant and extensive planning for him even before the incident occurred.When his parents met with the accident, Stephen immediately placed him in the welfare home. This was an arrangement his father had made long ago. Unexpectedly, his father had also arranged for Mr. Cole to go to Aurous Hill and set up a trap for him almost twenty years later.As Charlie thought about this, he picked up the phone again and called Jasmine. He had another question that he needed to confirm with her.After the call was connected, Jasmine respectfully asked,
Jasmine sensed that Charlie must be seeking confirmation about something, but upon seeing that Charlie didn't want to explain things clearly, she was very tactful and did not continue questioning him. Instead, she said respectfully, Master Wade, if you need anything or have any questions, feel free to call me anytime.”“Okay, sure.”Charlie thanked Jasmine and then hung up the phone. Vera, upon seeing his puzzled expression, couldn't help but ask, “Young Master, what's troubling you now?”Charlie calmly replied, “I suddenly thought of something just now. At the time, the Apocalyptic Book seemed like a book, but it didn't seem like one at the same time. When I picked it up, it quickly turned into powder on its own, yet the contents in it inexplicably imprinted themselves in my mind…”After pausing for a moment, Charlie continued, “So, does that mean that the Apocalyptic Book itself is only meant for one-time use, and it is destined that only one person can obtain its contents?”Ver
“But my father passed away twenty years ago. He wasn't a Feng Shui master such as yourself, so how could he have known twenty years ago that I would need to break through that predicament at twenty-seven years old?”Vera could not help but frown. After much thought, she said, “What you’re saying makes sense. While I don't mean to offend anyone, your father couldn't have predicted things so accurately twenty years ago.”Charlie added, “When I met Master Lennard on Mount Wintry, he said he came to Eastcliff to select Mount Wintry as geomantic treasure land for the Wades at the request of my grandfather. I've confirmed this with my grandfather and others. At that time, the Wades were in a bad situation, and my grandfather did indeed seek help everywhere before finally reaching out to Master Lennard. So, my father shouldn’t have been able to plan for me to break through my dragon stranding predicament in advance.” Vera asked further, "Did Master Lennard tell you exactly when you got
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
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