"Are you talking about the bullying?" asked Summer.Rose's face was fraught with anxiety. "Summer, it's not that serious. Everyone's just fooling around. Downplay it later—you don't want to get everyone's parents involved. "You knew how much Grandpa loves you. I can't imagine the lengths he would go to for you."Summer smiled at Rose. "So, you're worried about our classmates. I thought you would be more worried for yourself. Grandpa might blame you for keeping the truth."Rose's face was drained of color. That was her main concern for sure. She couldn't care less about the fates of Summer's arrogant bullies at school.She was more worried the Hartfords would look into the school bullying. What if they found out about her involvement—that she had often gathered girls to bully Summer?She would be done for!"Didn't I tell you to keep it a secret from Grandpa?" whispered Rose. "Don't spew nonsense later. Grandpa, Uncle Luke, and Aunt Kristen looked at me differently after your sli
Summer's chest tightened. The rage and pain in Henry's eyes reminded her of the time he protested against her decision to marry Anthony. She seemed to have traveled back to that moment in her past life."I'm sorry." She nearly suffered a breakdown. Clasping Henry's hand tightly, she promised, "I will not do that again. I was wrong. Grandpa, I'm sorry."Henry teared up as well. He was a strict father to Luke. Having never raised a daughter, he was a little flustered when he welcomed the birth of Summer. Staring at the wrinkly baby, he wondered how to raise her right.Later, he learned that a girl should be raised in the best environment so that she wouldn't easily fall for those who promised her good things. Keeping that in mind, he offered Summer the best of everything.Hence, he was devastated to learn from Ivan that Summer was bullied in school. He realized he had failed to protect the poor girl."You're the heiress of Hartford Group. How could a girl with that background get bu
Luke said sternly to Rose, "Talk normally. Get up."Henry still looked upset, but he didn't say anything harsh. He commanded Rose in a heavy tone, "Write down the names of Summer's bullies that you know of!"Rose agreed immediately, "I'll do that right now!"Kristen interjected, "I'll go with you."Seeing Rose sniffling, Kristen comforted her, "Stop crying."Rose sobbed and nodded before leaving the living room with Kristen.Meanwhile, Summer whispered to Henry, "Grandpa, don't be mad. I promise I won't do that anymore. No one has been bullying me at school these days.""That's because Robin has been dropping you off and picking you up every day!" Luke reminded her gruffly.Henry seemed heartbroken. "I should have made Robin do that from the start!""Mr. Cohen is capable of more, so he shouldn't be driving me around." Amused, Summer reassured Henry, "Trust me, Grandpa. I'm really good at handling the bullies now."In Henry's eyes, Summer was a fragile girl who had to be prote
"Dad, Mason Hunt is a busy man. He has no time to pull that off," Luke dismissed Henry's wild guess in exasperation."Let's make a bet. I bet Mr. Sutton will disappear before he even arrives at the police station!" Henry put on a serious face. "If that's the case, we can confirm that Mason was behind this, and I won't go easy on him!"Summer sighed softly at Henry's hostility toward Mason. Still, Mason wouldn't have volunteered to send Ivan to the police without a good reason. She suspected that Ivan might not survive to see another day.…Late at night, Mason emerged from an alley while wiping his hands with a flat expression.Kyle was waiting for him by the car. When he showed up, Kyle opened the car door for him.Mason stepped into the car and ordered, "Find every single one of the people in this recording."Head lowered, he sent an audio recording to Kyle. Kyle grunted. "Sure!""Get someone to send that thing in the alley to the police." A cold glint appeared across Mason
It took Rose a while to wrap her head around the situation. Staring at Kristen in disbelief, she whimpered, "Aunt Kristen, why… Why did you slap me?""You know very well why I slapped you," barked Kristen."Is it because I have my suspicions about Summer?" Sobbing, Rose questioned, "Can't I even suspect her? I didn't even tell a soul about it except you. How is that wrong? Do you expect me to bring it to my grave?""Enough!" Kristen would not have it anymore. "Rose, do you take us for fools?"Rose cried and cried. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"Kristen took a deep breath to calm herself. "Remember that time a classmate called you to tell you that it was Summer who hired the men to assault you? Write down his name and his contact number."Taken aback, Rose swiftly shook her head. "But he truly cares about me! I will never tell on him!""Is that the truth, or is it because that alleged classmate did not exist in the first place?" Kristen coldly pressed on. "I've looke
"You should stop Summer if you knew she'd hurt me!" Rose panicked. The last thing she wanted was to be "exiled" to a foreign country. Who knew what drastic change would happen to Summer when she was not around?"Rose Sanderson, you're the one who made a mistake here. If Summer wants to hurt you because of it, you only have two options—run away or bear with it." Kristen was unusually stern. "It's my job as Summer's mom to protect her. Not only did I not take it out on you, but I even offered you the chance to study abroad for your mother's sake. Do not test my limits!"Her last remark drove a knife into Rose's chest. "It's my job as Summer's mom to protect her"—these impactful words repeatedly played in Rose's mind. For the longest time, Kristen was nice to Rose and cold to Summer to the point where Rose nearly forgot that Kristen was first and foremost Summer's mother."Got it." A long silence later, Rose stopped crying. She wiped away her tears and stood up."Please hand the l
"Are we… even that close?" Puzzled, Summer questioned Anthony, putting him on the spot.The smile froze on his face.Arms crossed, she took a step back. "Anthony, do you have a crush on me or what?" Scanning him from head to toe, she sneered. "If that's true, you should target someone else. You're nowhere close to my ideal type. I'm not into gentlemen, but Rose is." Anthony's expression stiffened. "Summer, there's a misunderstanding here. I'm just amazed at your intelligence and your academic performance, and I would like to befriend you.""I will never be friends with Rose's boyfriends." She shrugged, sending a wave of panic through Anthony.He tried to explain himself, but Phoebe, rushing down the stairs, interrupted them by exclaiming, "Ms. Hartford, you're up!"Anthony clenched his jaw and held his tongue. Ignoring him, Summer approached Phoebe with a smile. "What's for breakfast?""All your favorite dishes!" Phoebe gave Anthony a side-eye. "Mr. Lawson, why are you here?
It was probably because of the bullying Summer had suffered in school before.She wasn't worried about Henry doing anything extreme, so she didn't bother to stop him. She would consider it a lesson for those school bullies.Kristen and Luke had left a bit earlier.After Henry left, Summer was left alone in the living room to eat breakfast. It didn't take long for the class chat group to start buzzing."I heard that Mr. Sutton got arrested.""Apparently, he was riding as part of a motorcycle gang at night and injured someone really important!""I heard it was because he embezzled a lot of money.""No matter what, it's good to see that scum got caught. My parents had to give him so many bribes every year.""My uncle's friend works at the police station. He said that Mr. Sutton was brought into the station in a completely bloody mess. It was a miracle he was even alive."Summer sipped on her milk as she scrolled through the messages leisurely. She still remembered how Ivan looked
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
"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