"There's no need." Summer didn't seem intimidated by the man at all.She pulled up a chair and sat in front of him.She was in no hurry to say anything as she stared at the man coldly while he struggled. All the while, she had her legs crossed and her arms folded.The bodyguards exchanged baffled looks with one another.After the man continued his struggles for a while, he slowly calmed down when he saw that Summer wasn't reacting at all. However, his eyes were still filled with hostility."Are you done now?" Summer said coolly.The man still looked like he wanted to tear Summer apart. Summer waved her hand. "Take the sock out."The bodyguards hesitated for a moment but still followed her orders as they pulled the sock out from the man's mouth.The man immediately started cursing, "Bitch! You're just a bitch under Kristen, aren't you? Do you know who I am? Just call her over and ask her!"A bodyguard who was right next to the man immediately slapped him. "How dare you speak
"Ms. Hartford, what's wrong?" The bodyguards by Summer's side were startled as well.Summer glanced at the phone screen. There was a picture of a pale and lifeless woman there. Then, she looked up at the man in front of her.There was a picture of a dead woman on his phone.The man immediately tried to console Summer. "Summer, don't be afraid. That woman is already dead! She's another shameless woman who abandoned her child at home to fool around with another man. Her husband was trash that refused to speak up! So, I taught her a lesson!""You've killed someone?" Summer asked in shock.That was when she realized that the man in front of her was a lunatic.The man shouted, "I'm just carrying out justice. I'll make sure to punish all the shameless women in the world that I see. Kristen's that kind of woman. I came today to take revenge for my father and me! That woman doesn't deserve to live at all."But don't worry. I won't hurt you. I like you a lot. You have no idea how happy I
"That murderer is a lunatic. He was coming for my mom. If I hadn't realized there was something wrong with him, my mom could have…" Summer shut her eyes tightly. Just the thought of it made her tremble.It had been so hard for her to snatch her parents back from death. She never expected more dangers to still be lurking around.Mason gently coaxed her, "But you did realize it, didn't you? You dealt with it very well. No one was hurt because of him."Summer listened to Mason's voice and enjoyed his presence by her side as she slowly calmed down."How did you get here? Did the bodyguards notice you?" Summer mumbled as she changed the subject.Mason smiled. "No, they were too busy downstairs."Summer tightened her hug. "Good. Let me hold you for a bit longer.""I'm yours anyway. You can hold me for as long as you want," Mason replied.Summer blushed slightly as she muttered, "Since when were you mine? Did I put a label on you? Or did you join my family?""Can I join your family?"
Summer turned her head toward the door. Then, she turned to look at Mason. "I forgot about my mom!"Mason still looked emotional. He looked at Summer and whispered into her ear, "So, should I hide or not?"Summer smacked the hand Mason still had around her waist in exasperation. "What else? Hurry up!""Kiss me again." Mason seemed to be in no hurry."Summer?" Kristen started to sound anxious outside as she pressed the doorbell twice.Summer clenched her teeth and quickly gave Mason another kiss. "Is that enough?"Mason nodded. Then, he used his thumb to lightly brush on her lips. "They're red. Think about how you'll explain that to my mother-in-law."Then, Mason kissed her on the forehead and headed to the bedroom.Summer was stunned for a moment before she walked to the door and mumbled, "Who's your mother-in-law? You're so shameless!"Before she opened the door, Summer wiped her lips and smoothed out her hair again."Mom, are you done with your meeting?" She blinked innocen
Kristen's anger subsided a little, and she became less anxious since Summer wasn't hurt. But as she had calmed down, her rationale returned as well. She started noticing things she hadn't earlier.She pinched Summer's chin and frowned. "What happened to your lips? Why do they look swollen? Emma, don't her lips look swollen?"Emma leaned in for a closer look and nodded. "A little.""It's probably because I bit them too hard earlier when I was questioning that lunatic earlier. I ate some spicy snacks after that as well! It's those," Summer said as she pointed at some snacks on the table.Kristen was still a little suspicious. She didn't think they looked like swelling from eating spice.Summer looked at Kristen. "What else do you think could have happened? Do you think I kissed someone?"Kristen remained silent. She then waved it off. "Alright. Stop messing around. I'm still worried. I'll stay with you tonight.""What?" Summer jumped in fright.It would have been perfectly fine i
Kristen nodded. "Summer, do you think I rushed into my comeback? Should I have prepared myself more?"Summer said gently, "As long as you want to return, it's never too hasty. Don't doubt yourself because of one or two pieces of trash. That's not the attitude of the award-winning actress I admire."Kristen smiled at her words.She had been gone from the industry for too long. On top of that, a lot of unpleasant things had happened before she retired back then. So, she had always been hesitant about making a comeback.If Summer hadn't constantly encouraged her, she might have just backed out."Kristen, it was my fault, too. I never expected so many incidents to happen," Emma said."Alright. Are we really going to let one lunatic make us feel so defeated? Mom, did you already wrap up your script reading?" Summer let out a helpless smile.Kristen shook her head. "There's no way I could have just left you here alone and continued with my script reading after what happened.""There'
"It doesn't hurt at all." Mason shook his head.Summer almost laughed in exasperation. She slumped her shoulders down. "Do you realize you're trapped again? I must have been out of my mind when I said yes to you coming over. I should have expected this to happen."Mason's face was full of regret. "There's nothing we can do about it. I guess I'll have to stay here tonight."Summer coldly looked at Mason, who seemed very amused. "Could you put a bit more effort into your acting?""I'll work harder next time," he answered.Summer looked exasperated, but she actually liked what was happening.Mason looked at her. "Didn't you say you wanted to study? Go ahead. I'll make sure to stay quiet."Summer was speechless.In truth, Mason had a misconception about himself. It was probably impossible for him to stay quiet the whole time. Not long after, he had already shifted closer to her.And after that, the two of them were kissing passionately on the couch. Since Pandora's box was opened,
Mason couldn't have been happier. He didn't sleep the whole night and would kiss Summer every once in a while. He was afraid of waking her up, so his movements were incredibly small and careful.At dawn, Summer's alarm rang. Even though Mason quickly switched off the alarm, Summer still woke up almost immediately.She blinked as she gazed to the side. She was stunned for a moment when she saw Mason, but her memories quickly came to her.She shut her eyes again as she wrapped her arms around Mason's waist. "The dark circles under your eyes are so obvious. Did you not sleep last night, Mr. Hunt?""Yes." Mason nodded.Summer shook her head. "How are you going to survive your probation like this?"Mason was taken aback for a moment. "Does that mean we can spend every night like this during probation?"Summer laughed before she pinched Mason's waist. She got up and whispered into his ear, "Dream on!"Mason was rendered silent. He had been happy for no reason."I need to keep my mom
"I got it." Summer knew that going head-to-head with the Hunt family this time must have caused Mason to be caught in the middle of some immense pressure and criticism.So, she didn't want him to worry about her too much.Chandler's incident had stirred massive public attention following Summer's live stream. In the next two days, more and more people were speaking out online.The police department responsible for the investigation was finally compelled to issue a statement, promising a lawful and thorough investigation into the case.Paul's family had rested at the Hartford residence for a day before they started to recover a little."We won't hold the funeral here. Our family back home is already handling the arrangements," said Paul's wife, Bailey Oak. Her eyes were still swollen from crying.Kristen nodded. "Alright. Don't worry. Mr. West has worked with our family for over ten years. He was practically one of us, so we'll make sure to take care of your family in the future."
"You know how vicious the Hunt family can be. Back then, I…" Kristen instinctively pressed her hand to her lower abdomen with an expression of grief. "I'm afraid of losing another child."Luke had an expression that was full of heartache. He gently pulled Kristen into his arms. "That won't happen. From now on, we will face everything together. We'll definitely protect Summer."Can I really do that?" Kristen's tears fell uncontrollably.Back then, she thought she could protect the child in her belly, too. But in the end…Luke said firmly, "You can. You definitely can. My wife has always been the strongest person I know!""Yes." Kristen nodded as she leaned against his shoulder.They had never spoken of that pain over the past 20 years. This was the first time. Summer's actions today had been like a key that unlocked this long-suppressed wound in Kristen's heart.Neither of them knew that Summer hadn't gone to sleep, either. She stood at the window in her room and could just see th
"Something like that happened?" Rosanna looked shocked. She had been locked up at the time.Jane sighed deeply. "I just heard about it, too. The kidnappers told her not to go to the police. They said they'd kill the kids if she did. In the end, she didn't report it and ended up paying 70 million dollars in ransom."Jane sighed again. "But she ran into some real monsters. After they got the money, they sent her a location to get the kids. When she got there, all she saw were their decomposing bodies!"Rosanna covered her mouth. "Oh, my God! Did they catch the kidnappers in the end?"Jane shook her head regretfully. "They were professionals, so how could anyone catch them? She lost her money and her children. Mrs. Mills fell seriously ill and is still in the hospital.""Those kidnappers are truly heartless!" Rosanna said."They were only missing for three days. Based on the state of the bodies, the kids were probably killed the moment they were kidnapped," Jane said.As Rosanna lis
Jane always outshone Rosanna in every way, so how could Rosanna possibly like her?Jane said softly, "Rosanna, I know you don't like me, but you're still family. I know you're just a straightforward and blunt person. You've never meant me any harm.Rosanna rolled her eyes internally at that. Jane couldn't be more wrong."I don't want you and Aspen to get divorced." Jane helped Rosanna sit down and crouched to examine her ankle. "It's sprained. I'll call a doctor.""No!" Rosanna was incredibly vulnerable at that moment.A vulnerable person's greatest weakness was someone being gentle to them.Jane frowned. "How could you not see a doctor? Just wait here. I'll go quietly. I'll make sure no one notices and bring the doctor over. No one will find out."After a pause, Jane continued, "I won't tell anyone about the divorce, either."Rosanna's ankle was throbbing with pain. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded. "Don't tell everyone!"Jane smiled gently and went off to find the doc
"As lawyers, we only need to achieve the desired outcome for our client. Nothing else matters," Malcolm said.The assistant fell silent.Aspen slumped down onto the hospital bed, looking defeated, while Rosanna sobbed uncontrollably."Enough crying. Go check on Mom," Aspen said impatiently.Rosanna choked out, "I refuse! Your mother never liked me to begin with. With what happened to Chandler, both of us are responsible as his parents, but your mother will definitely only blame me! You can go if you want!"After that, Rosanna grabbed her purse."Where are you going?" Aspen asked."I'm going to figure out a way to save my son!" Rosanna snapped and started to walk off.Aspen grabbed her arm. "I'm warning you. Don't go after Kristen again! This has nothing to do with her!""Kristen, Kristen! She's all you care about, even now. Her daughter stood there and humiliated you in front of everyone, making you out to be some creepy stalker, and you're still defending her?" Rosanna finally
"Chandler from that certain all-powerful family underwent a psychological evaluation every six months at his school abroad. Just over two months ago, when he had just returned to the country, he had one done. "His mental state is fine. You parents might've been driven crazy by anger, but not him."There was a frenzy online.The original post was quickly deleted, but people had already saved screenshots of all the relevant documents.Inside the Hunt residence, Aspen's hand was wrapped in gauze when he heard what the lawyer had to say. He exploded on the spot. "Who leaked something this private? Check with Chandler's school! I'm suing them! Every last person who leaked it!"The lawyer said gravely, "I've already checked. The school's digital database was hacked. Mr. Hunt, I told you yesterday to maintain a good line of communication with the victim's side. If you did, there might have been a chance for settlement. Why did you hire online trolls to spread lies?"The lawyer added, "N
"Mason, I'm not doing this for the Fridman family. I'm now a part of the Hunt family as your aunt. Even if you don't want Violet, that's fine. Summer really isn't right for you!" Jane still wore that sincere, gentle expression."Have you ever thought about why a girl with such ambition would want to be with you?" Jane asked.Mason looked at Jane. "That's where you're wrong. Summer wasn't the one who came looking for me. I'm the one who chased after her."Jane was speechless.Who in their right mind would believe that?At that moment, the elevator arrived. Mason didn't say another word to her as he got in the elevator and left.Jane stood in place.She never imagined that everything she had so carefully planned would be thrown off by the Hartford Group heiress who appeared out of nowhere."All that effort, Jane, and you were paving the way for someone else." A flamboyantly dressed woman walked over at that moment.She, too, was one of the many daughters-in-law of the Hunt family
"Tell Grandma I was here," Mason said before he turned to leave.These past few days had been unbearable for Aspen, especially with everything Summer exposed that day.All these years, people had assumed that there had been something between him and Kristen. It had always been something he could brag about, but the truth was exposed to the public today. That last shred of connection he had with Kristen had shattered as well.On top of that, Chandler was about to face serious criminal charges. Aspen felt like his heart was being set on fire."Mason!" he shouted after Mason, but Mason ignored him.Aspen clenched his teeth and rushed toward Mason with a sharp fruit knife in hand.Things had come to a point of no return anyway. If he had nothing left to lose, he might as well drag Mason down with him. If he killed Mason, maybe Royal Financial Group would fall back into Victoria's hands.But Aspen had underestimated Mason too much. His blade didn't even graze Mason. Mason merely gra
In the end, Mason still went to the private hospital that the Hunt family owned. As he stepped out of the elevator, all he saw were members of the Hunt family, gathered in full force.Mason knew exactly what was going on.These people hadn't shown up out of affection. They were just afraid that Victoria might actually die, so they were here early to wait for the inheritance."Mason, what the hell did you do to Grandma?"The moment they saw Mason, they pounced like a pack of wild dogs, but not a single one of them actually dared to touch him.If Victoria did die, Mason's threat level would skyrocket a hundredfold."This is a hospital. Why are you all being so loud?" Mason asked coldly.Jane ran over. "Everyone, calm down. This had nothing to do with Mason. She only got a heart attack because of Ms. Hartford's press conference."After that, Jane looked at Mason. "Mason, everyone's just worried, so they're a bit emotional. Don't take it to heart.""Where is Violet?" Mason asked.