Naturally, Phoebe was referring to Mason.Summer chuckled. "You know what kind of mess the Hunt family is in. If Ruddy is polite when he gets there, maybe he'll be fine. But if not, he's in for a beating."Phoebe looked baffled. "What's he going there for anyway? Can an illiterate write out a letter?"Summer was taken aback. "He can't read?"Phoebe said, "That's right. Even writing his own name is a struggle. We actually started school together as kids, but he attended for a day and never came back."Back then, a brick factory had been established in their village. The pay was based on how many bricks one moved.The West family was always broke, so when Ruddy heard that there was money to be made, he quit school and ran off to haul bricks.At first, he did make some cash, but he blew it all by strutting around town like a big shot.Later, when the factory stopped making money, he was already too old to go back to school. So, he went south with a relative to find work.Summer s
At dinner time, the West family had finally calmed down.Summer had quickly arranged for a professional financial manager to divide and manage the ten million dollars on their behalf."Mrs. West, take a look at this. Ten million dollars is no small sum. I was worried that if you took the whole amount home, it might attract trouble. So, I asked a financial manager to prepare a plan." Summer handed her a copy of the financial plan.She said, "You won't receive the money all at once, but you'll have more than enough for your monthly expenses. The child's education is budgeted with the best resources as well."Bailey looked at it and said, "Ms. Hartford, I know you won't harm us. We don't understand any of this anyway, so whatever you arrange for us is fine."Summer said casually, "Alright! Oh, Dustin, after the funeral, you should stay a few more days. My parents found a top-notch specialist for you. We'll take you for a full-body checkup and get a proper treatment plan going."Bail
"Summer, look at me!" Rose Sanderson grabbed Summer Hartford by the hair, yanking the latter up from the ground. She forced Summer to stare at her.Summer was as thin as a stick, her cheeks gaunt. In the deep of the winter, all she had on her was a thin layer of filthy mental institution patient robe. Like a zombie, she was unresponsive to Rose's actions.Clearly, Rose was unhappy at Summer's lack of response. After six years of meticulous planning, she had finally crushed Summer. She would not be happy until she witnessed Summer in despair."You're dying. Don't you want to meet with Grandpa?" She flashed a malicious smile.The mention of her grandfather finally elicited some response from Summer.Rose clutched Summer's hair with a look of excitement and glee. She hauled Summer to the front of a curtain like she was dealing with the carcass of an animal. Then, she drew back the curtains.Behind the curtain lay an emaciated old man with multiple tubes attached to his body. He seem
"No!"Summer jolted awake from the excruciating pain of being burned alive."What's wrong, Summer?"A familiar face loomed before her. Rose?Summer's eyes wavered. Something wasn't quite right. It had been years since she saw Rose looking barefaced and innocent.She scanned her surroundings quickly and froze. It seemed she had returned to the day before her 18th birthday—six years ago. On that day, Rose took her to a bar to celebrate her birthday.She stared down at her hands, expecting to see them wrinkled and wounded, only to find them looking fair and smooth.It dawned on her that she had traveled back to the start of her tragic life."I've gotten you a glass of lemonade from the bar. Take some lemonade. You'll feel better." Looking concerned, Rose handed Summer a drink.Summer stared at the drink as chills traveled down her spine. In her past life, she recalled blacking out after taking that drink.When she pieced together fragments of her memories, she recounted being
Summer hadn't expected to run into Mason right after she was reborn. The thought of Mason running into the fire to hug her at the final moments of her life made her chest tighten. Pain crashed through her body.Wait a minute. Did Mason walk past the bar street on that fateful night in her past life?She assumed he had heard about the incident because her nudes caused quite a stir back then. If Mason had already fallen in love with her at that time…A wave of pain rolled through her. She stopped herself from thinking further. The footsteps outside slowly receded.Letting out a relieved sigh, Mason loosened his grip on Summer's mouth. Gazing down with a frown, he removed her cap. "Ms. Hartford?"This was the second time Summer heard his voice. He had first addressed her in the fire, saying to her, "I will never leave you alone again."His voice was low and melodious, like an instrument.Staring up at Mason, all she could think of was Rose's cruel remarks during her final moments
Mason had put on a totally different demeanor by now. He looked intimidating and unapproachable. Anyone would freeze in his presence.Without taking a look at Summer, Mason barked a cold command at the man, "Send her home." Then, he entered a Maybach at the forefront of the motorcade.The inconsistency of his behavior confused Summer. Before this, he was cheerful and seductive around her. Why did he act like they were strangers now? Did he suffer from some sort of dissociative identity disorder?"Miss, mind sharing your home address?" the burly man respectfully inquired Summer.She politely turned him down. "It's fine. I'll get a cab home.""That won't do. Please have mercy on me and don't put me in a tight spot. I need to obey Mr. Hunt's orders. If I don't see you home safely, I might as well be damned!" The man put on a serious look.Feeling speechless, Summer deliberated for a bit before entering the car. Firstly, Mason would not harm her. Secondly, it was unsafe for a woman t
Rose received a call from Anthony when she was in the shower.Anthony's family was in the hardware supply business. Although he wasn't considered one of the wealthiest guys, he was at least good-looking and ambitious. Rose was quite fond of him and picked him to carry out her plan of taking over Hartford Group.His call sent her into panic mode. She knew him too well. He'd definitely turn up his nose at her if he found out she had been gang-raped!Rose decided to keep it a secret from Anthony. She quickly regained her composure and answered his call in a coquettish manner, "Anthony, have you found Summer?""She's back at the Hartford residence," he replied grimly. "I lost touch with that hooligan I hired."Of course, he couldn't get in touch with that hooligan because that guy had snapped his SIM card in half in front of Summer."How did that happen?" Rose's eyes were filled with shock. She thought she had spiked Summer's drink with a strong dosage. Summer couldn't have possibly
Kristen was an award-winning actress before she married Luke. People had described her looks in this way—heart-stopping and breathtakingly beautiful.Many lamented her decision to retire when she was at the peak of her career. She might be near her 50s, but she looked like she was in her late 20s."Mom, are you free today? I can't get in touch with Rose. Can you go with me to shop for a dress for my birthday party instead? I know you have great taste, and you'll definitely pick the best dress for me," Summer asked Kristen sweetly. She did not want to miss out on the chance to repair her relationship with Kristen.Kristen shot her a shocked expression. It had been a few years since Summer called her "Mom".Henry and Luke appeared stunned as well. Their eyes darted between the mother and daughter. Despite feeling awkward, Kristen agreed to the invitation with a grunt.In the past, Summer would have flown into a rage at Kristen's nonchalant attitude. However, she was excited to g
At dinner time, the West family had finally calmed down.Summer had quickly arranged for a professional financial manager to divide and manage the ten million dollars on their behalf."Mrs. West, take a look at this. Ten million dollars is no small sum. I was worried that if you took the whole amount home, it might attract trouble. So, I asked a financial manager to prepare a plan." Summer handed her a copy of the financial plan.She said, "You won't receive the money all at once, but you'll have more than enough for your monthly expenses. The child's education is budgeted with the best resources as well."Bailey looked at it and said, "Ms. Hartford, I know you won't harm us. We don't understand any of this anyway, so whatever you arrange for us is fine."Summer said casually, "Alright! Oh, Dustin, after the funeral, you should stay a few more days. My parents found a top-notch specialist for you. We'll take you for a full-body checkup and get a proper treatment plan going."Bail
Naturally, Phoebe was referring to Mason.Summer chuckled. "You know what kind of mess the Hunt family is in. If Ruddy is polite when he gets there, maybe he'll be fine. But if not, he's in for a beating."Phoebe looked baffled. "What's he going there for anyway? Can an illiterate write out a letter?"Summer was taken aback. "He can't read?"Phoebe said, "That's right. Even writing his own name is a struggle. We actually started school together as kids, but he attended for a day and never came back."Back then, a brick factory had been established in their village. The pay was based on how many bricks one moved.The West family was always broke, so when Ruddy heard that there was money to be made, he quit school and ran off to haul bricks.At first, he did make some cash, but he blew it all by strutting around town like a big shot.Later, when the factory stopped making money, he was already too old to go back to school. So, he went south with a relative to find work.Summer s
Ruddy's face went pale in an instant.Those twin boys were the children he'd had a few years ago with a young woman. After that, he got tired of providing for the family and broke up with her. Hardly anyone knew about it. He hadn't even told his family.He never imagined that Aspen would know about it.Aspen kicked Ruddy hard. "I already looked into everything there is to know about you. You'll do exactly what I tell you. If you stir up any trouble, I'll make sure your whole family is ruined! Get lost, you hillbilly!"Sure enough, Ruddy was beaten up again and tossed to the side of the road.His head started bleeding again, and Ruddy sobbed uncontrollably. He found his phone, which already had a shattered screen, and called Bailey.After Ruddy had gotten thrown out of the Hartford residence, the West family was thrown into chaos.Dustin dropped to his knees in front of Summer and Kristen. "I'm scum! I really am!""Dustin, don't do this! I know what kind of person you are. If
Five million dollars. It was five million dollars.Ruddy's eyes were practically glued to the card.Aspen gave Malcolm an impatient look, and Malcolm handed the pen and paper to Ruddy.Ruddy was taken aback when he saw the pen and paper. "Aren't you supposed to write it, and I just sign it?""It would be better if you wrote it yourself," Malcolm said.Ruddy looked embarrassed. "But I don't know how to write?"Aspen finally lost his patience. He slammed the table and stood up. "What? You're illiterate?""What are you yelling at me for? When did I say I could write? I'm doing you a favor by agreeing to this, and this is how you treat me?" Ruddy didn't care that Aspen was rich at that moment.Aspen was begging him for help, so why should Ruddy tolerate Aspen?"Stop arguing." Malcolm was getting a headache. He never imagined that Ruddy would be illiterate."Fine. I'll have someone print out the content. You can just copy it, right?" Malcolm just wanted this done as quickly as pos
Malcolm looked disgusted. "Got it. We'll get back to you soon."Then, he hung up. "Bastard!" Aspen slammed his hand on the table hard.Malcolm said grimly, "I told you before Paul didn't have many relatives. His parents are both gone, and other than his wife and children, there's only his brother left. The Hartford family is watching the West family closely. "No one answered when I called, so I had to try this guy. Who knew he'd be this stupid?""Is a letter of forgiveness from his biological brother useful?" Aspen asked.Malcolm frowned. "It has some value, but it wouldn't nearly be as effective as getting it from the wife or children.""I don't care. Even getting one is something. Offer him three million dollars." Aspen felt a headache coming on.Malcolm hesitated for a moment. "You really want to pay him? This thug has never treated his brother well before. If the family mentions that in court, this three million dollars might as well go down the drain.""Get that letter
"Go ahead." Summer showed no intention of stopping him.Ruddy was stunned. "I'm not joking around. I really will go."Summer didn't seem to care at all. "Go ahead. Also, you were talking so much about inheritance just now. What inheritance? Since when did this ten million dollars count as inheritance?"Ruddy said smugly, "It's still compensation! I get a share either way! I know the law, Ms. Hartford."Summer nodded. "Seems like you got it wrong. This money isn't for Paul.""Don't try to fool me!" Ruddy frowned.Summer turned to gently soothe the baby, who was still sobbing. "Hey little cutie, you shouldn't cry anymore. I gave you a ten-million-dollar gift, and you're still upset? Come on, give me a smile."Everyone widened their eyes in shock."What ten-million-dollar gift? What are you talking about?" Ruddy tried to grab Summer, but Robin stopped him.Summer held the baby's tiny hand. "My grandfather already gave the funeral expenses to Mrs. West. I'm only giving the ten mil
Summer added, "Another example. You happily get home and reach your building when suddenly, some lunatic jumps out of nowhere with a knife. He slashes through everyone, not leaving a single one of you left."She shrugged. "Or maybe you make it home safe. But in the middle of the night, when everyone's sound asleep, there's a gas leak. Or better yet, a fire. Everything's gone in a blaze, just like that. Stories like that pop up among rich families all the time. You can give it a shot if you don't believe me.""Quit trying to scare me! I'm fearless!" Ruddy thumped his chest."Paul was a good man who had been nice to my whole family. Ten million dollars is no small sum. I believe I've shown more than enough sincerity. As for what you choose, I won't interfere," Summer said calmly as she motioned for someone to open the door.Seeing this, Ruddy rushed forward and pulled his relatives to leave. "Come on. Let's go first. We'll talk about it among ourselves later.""If you want to leave,
Bailey had never been one to make decisions.Her two sons had their own difficulties as well. They didn't want to betray the truth behind Paul's death, but Ruddy had a point. Pauh was gone, and the living had to carry on."Ms. Hartford, my uncle is right. This is a family matter. I think we should handle it ourselves," the eldest son, Dustin West, said with great difficulty.Bailey looked at him in shock, then lowered her head silently."I understand. We all have our own burdens." Summer didn't blame him.Only those who had truly suffered understood how hard it was to make choices in the midst of hardship."Come on, let's go! The lawyer's still waiting. As long as we sign the letter, that ten million dollars is ours!" Ruddy urged eagerly."Bailey, you really need to think this through! You're doing Paul so wrong here!" Phoebe felt like crying.Summer said, "If it's for the money, you don't need to leave. Paul died because of me, so I was planning on compensating you anyway.""
Summer didn't have much of an expression on her face as she walked down slowly.But Phoebe explained anxiously, "Let's not even talk about whether the ten million dollars is real or not. Ruddy, that's your brother's life! Are you really going to be the kind of person to take money in exchange for his life?""What's it got to do with you? You're already siding with this family anyway!" Ruddy glared at the lavish interior of the Hartford residence. "Just look at this place. Is this how you all make your money?"Ruddy's last sentence had been aimed at Kristen, it was obvious he knew that Kristen was the lady of the house.Summer walked over to Kristen and said, "Mr. West, what's the rush? You didn't even bother with basic manners before coming in, and you started shouting the moment you entered. Don't you think that's a bit out of line?"She looked at Bailey's arm and saw that her wrist was red from being grabbed too hard. "Why don't you let go of Mrs. West's hand first? Her wrist is