Noelle had forgotten how she had responded to Beatrice at that moment. After hanging up the call, she sat alone in her room, looking out the window in a daze.To avoid being surrounded by the media, she hadn't left the house in days.Even the household staff who came to clean had obviously seen the news, as their gazes toward Noelle were cautious and tinged with pity. So, rather than encountering them, she preferred staying alone in her room.Just as she turned on her tablet, trying to distract herself with work, the doorbell rang.She immediately frowned.Before long, a household staff came in and informed her, "Mrs. Freeman, it's someone claiming to be Mr. Freeman's younger brother. Would you like to see him?"Noelle pressed her lips together.The household staff didn't dare to assume anything from her expression, so she simply stood there, waiting.Finally, Noelle said, "Let him in."As she did, she got up and walked out of her room.The household staff quickly invited Nat
Nthan added, "Olivia once told me that sometimes, Hendrix would stare at her in a daze, as if he was seeing someone else through her. If my guess is correct, that person should be you, Noelle. Or rather, the person you used to be. You're too rational and calm now."Take this situation, for example—any other woman, upon hearing that her husband was in such trouble, would be panicking like crazy. Even if she wasn't desperately trying to scheme on his behalf, at the very least, she'd be furious, wouldn't she?"But you seem completely unaffected. Hendrix surely understands this even better than I do, and he can feel it more directly. So, for him to seek that emotional fulfillment from another woman? That's only natural."Nathan's tone was light and casual. He was speaking from the perspective of a man, drawing a conclusion that seemed perfectly reasonable to him, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.But Noelle couldn't help but laugh at his words.Her unexpected reaction made Nat
Hendrix remained in police custody during the most intense days of public scrutiny.As days passed, the media frenzy gradually began to die down. But when the morning news of his bail broke, the police station entrance was once again flooded with reporters.Microphones and cameras were set up, and everyone was waiting for Hendrix to emerge, eager to capture the latest scoop.Dan was well aware of the situation. Initially, he had planned an alternate time and route for Hendrix's exit.However, Hendrix rejected his proposal without a second thought.The moment he said this, Dan immediately understood that Hendrix had his own plan. So, he didn't insist and simply followed the official procedures as required by the police.Outside, the reporters had been waiting for a long time. They all had their eyes fixed ahead, holding their breath.So, when Hendrix stepped out, they surged forward hungrily without hesitation and had him completely surrounded in an instant."Mr. Freeman, would
Soon, Hendrix arrived at Nivis Villa.For the past few days, he had been consumed with the thoughts of how Noelle was doing. He knew this had been Nathan's plan all along, and Noelle had been part of that plan.After all, if it hadn't been for that phone call that night—telling him that Noelle was at Olivia's place—he wouldn't have gone to meet Olivia so late.So now, what worried him the most was whether they had truly done something to Noelle.But for some reason, despite his overwhelming anxiety and urgency—despite the fact that every moment in the police station had been spent thinking about Noelle's safety and how to get out sooner to see her—now that he was finally home, he suddenly felt hesitant as he stood before the villa.He simply stood there with his fist hovering in the air, unable to knock on the door, until the household staff opened it first.Seeing him, the household staff froze for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Mr. Freeman, you're back! Oh, it's so won
Hendrix's expression visibly changed when Noelle finished speaking.But he quickly composed himself and said, "That night, someone called me, saying you had been taken to Olivia's place. And that's why I went. But when I got there, I never even saw Olivia."She had locked herself in the bathroom and then jumped from the balcony. I have no idea why she did that. There was really nothing going on between us!"Hendrix sounded a little hollow as he gave his explanation.Noelle simply stood there, listening intently. She didn't interrupt him, but neither did she give him any response.Hendrix watched her closely with a slight frown."This is all a setup by Nathan!" he added quickly. "I shouldn't have let my guard down. I never imagined he would actually push Olivia to her death. But don't worry. I'll take care of this matter. You just—""That's enough," Noelle abruptly cut him off.Her voice was light, yet it stripped Hendrix's expression away little by little.He looked at her. "W
The look in Noelle's eyes was more like a plea, rather than sincerity.The weighing of pros and cons—this was something Hendrix had been trained in since young and had always prided himself on how good he was in this area. Whether in business or elsewhere, this skill had allowed him to rise to the top.But never had he imagined that one day, he would be placed on the losing side of that equation, and then discarded just like that.He slowly loosened his grip on Noelle's shoulders before taking a step back."What do you mean?" he asked. "Are you saying this is the reason you want to leave me? Noelle, if you so much as say right now that it's because of Olivia, I would have forgiven you. Because that would mean you care about me and that you don't want me to be involved with another woman."As he spoke, he suddenly let out a laugh. "No, that can't be right. There's no way it's because you're jealous. After all, if you really cared about me, you wouldn't have been living so well thes
Noelle placed the divorce agreement in front of Hendrix.The moment Hendrix saw the title, he let out a laugh. "So, you had this prepared all along."Noelle didn't respond.Hendrix's smile deepened. Then, without a single moment of hesitation, he picked up the pen and smoothly signed his name.Hendrix had written his name countless times. Ever since he had first learned how to read and write, Beatrice had taught him to perfect his name. So, he didn't need to think. The moment the pen touched the paper, his hand moved instinctively.He then tossed the agreement back to Noelle. "There. Are you satisfied now?"Noelle caught it swiftly. After confirming Hendrix's signature, she turned to look at him. "Thank you."Thank you? For what? For granting her freedom? To her, was this something worth celebrating and being grateful for?Hendrix had wanted to mock her, but when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back.Not just because his mind suddenly felt empty, but because if h
After that, with Amity Group's stock prices skyrocketing, it became clear that Hendrix had won.It was also around that time that the truth behind Olivia's death was revealed.The real mastermind behind everything had been Nathan. For some time, he had been blackmailing Olivia with her nude photos, forcing her to do his bidding. Unable to endure the torment any longer, Olivia chose to take her own life by jumping from the 21st-floor balcony.As for why she was in a disheveled state when she jumped, nobody could say for sure. But according to the autopsy report, before her death, she had no physical relations with Hendrix.And just like that, the whole truth was exposed.Those who had previously speculated fell into silence. Even Seline was saying that she had wrongly blamed Hendrix for Olivia's death.Noelle had only smiled in response.Seline glanced at her, then asked, "So, are you two—""Forget it." Noelle already knew what she wanted to ask and answered quickly, "Honestly,
Dylan had been wrong all along.Money and power—none of that had ever been what he was truly meant to chase. Because no one could stay at the center of power forever, and no one could possess those things for all time. What he should have been chasing was just that one light. That one light that would stay on for him late into the night. But now, he knew it was all too late.As he closed his eyes, Dylan suddenly thought of his mother, Leah. He remembered how, as a child, he had longed for a new set of paintbrushes. He had asked his parents for them many times. He even wanted to use his own Christmas money to buy them. But they refused.They believed it was wasteful. It didn't align with the frugal and disciplined lifestyle they lived by. So in the end, Dylan stole the set of paintbrushes from the stationery store.Because he came from a prestigious scholarly family and always kept a refined, gentlemanly image in public, the store owner never suspected a thing.But his parents fo
"Are you crazy? Noelle, let go of the wheel!" Dylan struggled to regain control of the car, but Noelle held onto the steering wheel tightly, refusing to let go.The car didn't slow down. On the contrary, it raced forward at an even faster pace.How long did this go on? Maybe it lasted only dozens of seconds. But for Dylan, it felt like the blink of an eye. Because the next moment, he saw the oncoming car.That car was speeding as well.Dylan didn't even have time to grab his gun. Just as he was about to slam on the brakes, the two cars collided at high speed. There was a deafening crash as the cars were thrown into the air, then slammed back down.Dylan's eyes widened. But in that instant, his first instinct was to turn and look at Noelle. Her eyes were already closed. She looked as if she had been prepared to face death all along. She must have known what he intended to do, and she also knew he didn't actually want to die.The only reason he took her away was so he could use her
Erwin was just about to repeat his question when a voice came from behind."Excuse me, but I think I know where your wife is."Hendrix spun around immediately.Standing behind them was a woman with long hair and big eyes. "I saw her just now in the backyard. Someone was taking her away. If I'm not mistaken, I think it was Mr. Pritchett from Morphy Fund?"At the mention of Dylan, Hendrix's expression turned dark as thunder. He charged up to the woman. "Where did they go?""I'm not sure. But I did take down his license plate number. Do you need it?""Where is it?" Hendrix barked.The woman held out her hand. "I'll give it to you for 1,000 dollars."Hendrix didn't carry cash with him. But he shoved his bank card into her hand without hesitation. "The license plate number!"The woman looked at the card, a little dissatisfied. But considering Hendrix's status, she figured he likely wouldn't care about such a small amount of money. Thus, in the end, she still showed Hendrix the phot
"Erwin!"The voice came just as Erwin stood on the terrace, smoking a cigarette in frustration.Although they had technically won the battle and he had earned a great deal from it, he felt, strangely enough, not the slightest trace of satisfaction. Maybe it was because Hendrix had forced him into the game. Or maybe, by now, winning and losing simply didn't stir anything in him anymore.At the beginning, Erwin had been somewhat excited. He had thought Dylan would be a difficult opponent—someone who could cause serious trouble, maybe even defeat them entirely. That would have been interesting. But instead, everything had gone far too smoothly. There had been no twists and no turns. Just a clean finish. It was boring, to say the least.And the current victory party? Equally so.Hendrix had insisted Noelle attend the party, saying she had flawlessly completed her part of the plan and that this victory was also hers. So, the party had turned out very wholesome, or rather, dull.Erwi
Erwin still showed signs of dissatisfaction. It seemed he was saying something, but Noelle could no longer hear him. She didn't look back either, instead turning her gaze to the other people at the party.The loud music continued, and the excitement and energy of the crowd remained high. But Noelle knew that this wasn't the usual celebration. This, in fact, was just Hendrix's way of making her adapt and accept the situation.Though she had known this for some time, the realization still made Noelle uncomfortable. Then, she suddenly remembered something Dylan had told her a few days ago about her past with Hendrix.Even though she knew Dylan's words weren't necessarily true, that didn't mean everything he said was a lie. How much of the past he mentioned was real, and how much was false?Noelle actually thought her life was fine now. She was willing to accept her past choices and believed in Hendrix's feelings for her. At least, this was what she thought sometimes.But at other tim
Dylan didn't dare to stay there. He immediately drove back to his place.He wanted to take Noelle with him and leave. Even if she didn't have her passport, it didn't matter. After all, there were definitely people looking for him right now.But no matter what, he was going to protect her. Even if they had to roam the world, it didn't matter. As long as they were together, it was fine. Even if it was just a shabby house, as long as there was a light on, that would be their home.However, when Dylan returned to the apartment, he found Noelle nowhere in sight. Gone also were all her things. The desk and floor were spotless, as if nothing had ever existed there.Dylan remained standing where he was. It took him several minutes to finally process what he was seeing. Then, he couldn't help but laugh. It was as if he had just heard the biggest joke—he laughed so hard that his whole body shook.Of course, how could he have thought she would be waiting for him here? How could she possibly
"I'm damned for ever believing your words! Now, just die!" George didn't give Dylan another chance to speak. He pulled the trigger, aiming to shoot a bullet through Dylan's forehead.In that instant, Dylan finally understood. This time, Hendrix didn't intend to leave him alive.If the goal had only been to swallow up Morphy Fund and make Dylan lose everything, the matter would have ended there. However, it seemed that Hendrix must have said something to George, which led him to believe that Dylan and Hendrix were working together—that Dylan had betrayed Morphy Fund.At this point, George had no way out. So, it wouldn't be surprising if he shot Dylan in the head. What Hendrix wanted was for him to die.Dylan didn't know what he was thinking at that moment. By the time he reacted, he had already grabbed the gun's barrel and twisted it violently. The bullet scraped past his head.Without hesitation, George moved to pull the trigger again when Dylan, still holding onto his wrist, forc
Dylan still remembered the victory party at the villa a few days ago. At that time, George had pushed him in front of everyone. He had enjoyed all the praise and recognition while sipping glass after glass of champagne.He knew that no matter how much doubt and skepticism there had been about him in the past, it all vanished that night. That was also why George had thrown him a victory party at the very first stage.After all, only by telling everyone about his achievements would they believe in him and entrust him with their funds. But they probably didn't expect the final result to be like this.Actually, when Fuer Fund continued to add to their position after reaching the peak, George had already warned Dylan that there might be some issues. But the market was unpredictable—a moment's decision or a few seconds of hesitation could lead to failure.Thus, Dylan didn't wait. He thought Hendrix was also gambling. So, he disregarded the risk and pushed all the funds in. He wanted Hend
Noelle's expression changed at that moment. It took her a while to find her voice to ask, "Is that what really happened?""Hendrix definitely hasn't told you all these, right?" Dylan smirked. "It's because he's too afraid to mention them. So, tell me. How could someone like him possibly deserve a happy life? "Don't worry. I'll make sure to take him down this time. Once I get your passport, you can go whenever you want."When he finished speaking, there was sincerity and seriousness in his eyes as he looked at Noelle. He really hoped she would stay. Of course, he wanted victory. But if he could have her by his side when he achieved it, that would be even better.Although once he reached the top, anyone could stay by his side. But the person he wanted most was Noelle."Thank you," Noelle said in the end.That wasn't the answer Dylan was most satisfied with. But he knew he couldn't afford to rush things just yet. For now, it was enough that Noelle was on his side."Alright, go to