Hendrix didn't even spare Marshall and Marla a glance. Instead, he turned to the people behind him and said, "Search for Noelle."The moment the words left his mouth, his men moved in without hesitation."Hendrix Freeman! This is my home. You're trespassing on private property!" Marla shouted."Noelle came to your party and then disappeared. So what's so wrong with me searching for her here?""Are you seriously accusing us of hiding her?"Instead of responding, Hendrix simply followed the others upstairs.However, it wasn't long before the police called him, informing him that Noelle had likely been taken away by someone.Whoever took her was clearly familiar with the Swift family's estate surveillance layout. They carefully avoided the cameras while moving through the property.The only footage they managed to capture was a brief glimpse of an arm flashing across one of the cameras. It appeared that Noelle had been carried away—her arms hanging limply at her side.It lasted n
Unlike the furious Hendrix, Dylan remained perfectly calm. There was even a hint of confusion in his eyes as he looked at the former.Then, Dylan said, "Mr. Freeman, aren't you asking the wrong person? Noelle's your wife, so why are you asking me where she is? Isn't that a little inappropriate? Or do you have evidence to suggest that I took her?"Hendrix fell silent. He simply stood there, staring at Dylan. His clenched fists slowly loosened.Then, he let out a soft laugh. "Fine, Dylan. You've made your choice."With that, he turned and walked away.Dylan remained where he was, watching Hendrix leave before turning to the other employees with a smile. "If there's nothing else, you can all go back to work now."At his words, the employees didn't dare to linger any longer. After exchanging a few glances with each other, they quickly dispersed.As he walked, Hendrix was already making calls. Coppersville wasn't that big—he refused to believe that even if he had to turn the entire c
Hearing those words, Hendrix finally seemed to snap out of his daze. He stood up and headed out the door.Perhaps because he had been sitting in the same position for too long, he felt a wave of dizziness as he got up. He stood up still for a moment, waiting for the sensation to pass, before continuing forward.Rosie's condition was critical. Although she had been recovering well, the possibility of a relapse was always there. That was why every time she got sick or ran a fever, there was always a chance it was a sign of relapse.Beatrice's eyes were already red with worry. When she saw Hendrix, she had every intention of scolding him for showing up so late. But the moment she took in his expression, she swallowed back her words.Then, she lowered her voice and said, "Go check on Rosie."Hendrix didn't respond. He simply walked into the hospital room.Rosie was lying in bed. Hendrix hadn't seen her in days. She'd lost weight, her face pale under the oxygen mask.He slowly sat be
"Hendrix?" Beatrice's voice pulled him back to reality.He turned his head and gazed up at her. A jolt went through Beatrice when she saw the look in his eyes."Yes?" Hendrix asked. His voice was calm, as if nothing had happened.After a brief pause, Beatrice said, "You haven't had a proper rest in a long time, have you? Why don't you go home for a bit? I can stay with Rosie.""No, I'm fine." Hendrix refused without hesitation. "Besides, I promised Rosie I'd stay with her.""But—""You should head back," Hendrix cut her off. Then, he turned his attention back to Rosie, who was lying in bed.Beatrice looked at his back. After hesitating for a moment, she finally said, "Is there still no news about Noelle?"At her words, Hendrix seemed to tense for a moment. Then, he said, "It's fine. I'll find her. And even if I can't, there's someone who definitely knows where she is."Noelle's disappearance wasn't a coincidence. Whoever knew the exact locations of all the surveillance cameras
Hendrix didn't respond to Ruth. He simply pulled his arm away, his face devoid of any expression.Then, he glanced at the security guard nearby. The guard had wanted to stop Ruth earlier, but her heavily pregnant state made him hesitate to act.However, with Hendrix's icy gaze now on him, the guard had no choice but to step forward."Let go of me! Who do you think you are? Get your hands off me!" Ruth screamed, but the guard didn't release her.From her position, all she could do was watch Hendrix walk past her. Her eyes widened slightly, and her voice grew even shriller. "I get it now. That bitch is dead, isn't she? Serves her right! She deserved it! She should've died a long time ago!"As soon as Ruth finished speaking, Hendrix came to an abrupt halt. Then, he turned to look at her.Ruth had been ready to continue her tirade. After all, she had nothing left to lose now. Her family's company and factories had all been shut down. Ricky had even called her a jinx, blaming her for
Lately, Dyno Corporation had been making waves in Coppersville. Not only did they secure several major projects, but one of their international collaborations even won an award on the global stage. Their success was so overwhelming that even Amity Group seemed to be overshadowed.Hendrix knew that the Swift family was behind all of this. Otherwise, with the limited funds Dylan had inherited from Jean, there was no way he could have pulled all of this off. But it didn't matter—Hendrix never saw the Swift family as a real obstacle anyway.In truth, he could take matters into his own hands if he wanted to. But just as Erwin had pointed out, there were too many restrictions in the country. To achieve his goal, it would take months, if not a year.But Hendrix couldn't wait any longer. A month was already the limit of his patience. If there was still no news of Noelle, he would truly go mad.The car soon arrived at Sienna Villa. When Hendrix entered, Rosie was in the backyard. She stood
Noelle had also mentioned that Rosie had been looking forward to this day for a long time, so she hoped Hendrix could set aside an entire day to spend with her.Hendrix had agreed at the time. But now, did any of it still matter?Finally, he asked Rosie, "What do you want for your birthday?" Rosie turned to look at him. After studying him for a moment, she turned back to the window and replied, "I don't want anything."Hendrix didn't know how to respond. In truth, he knew better than anyone what Rosie wanted most. But the confidence he had once felt was now replaced by uncertainty.He was well aware that leaving Rosie at Sienna Villa was a better choice. After all, he was busy with work, and he wasn't sure how to communicate with a child. Yet, he still wanted to bring her back to Roselle Court—to their home.Because Hendrix didn't want to return to a place where he would be all alone. The vast, silent space and all the familiar objects inside would serve as painful reminders tha
This was the first time Hendrix had ever put Rosie to sleep. He didn't know what to do, so he tried to imitate Noelle by reading her a storybook. But having never fallen asleep to bedtime stories as a child or read one aloud himself, his tone was inevitably stiff and awkward.Fortunately, Rosie was already exhausted from crying. So, it didn't take long before she drifted into a deep sleep.Hendrix sat beside her for a while longer, watching her as she slept. Everyone said Rosie looked like him. But now, he saw more of Noelle in her. Her eyes, the shape of her face, even the way she got angry—it was almost identical to Noelle.Hendrix looked away, closing his eyes to compose himself before finally getting up and leaving. When he returned to his bedroom, it was unsurprisingly pitch dark.He turned on the light and slowly sat down on the couch in the walk-in closet. The closet had been expanded from the master bedroom. Originally, it was divided into two sides—one for his clothes and
The moment Hendrix fixed his eyes on Noelle, she suddenly found herself at a loss for words. As their eyes met, even the tips of her ears began to flush red without her realizing it."Why are you looking at me like that?" Noelle couldn't help but ask."So, have you remembered everything?" Hendrix asked instead. "Everything about us?""No," Noelle replied, turning her head away. "My head hurts. Didn't you say you were going to get the doctor? You can go—"But before she could finish, Hendrix suddenly grabbed her hand. His grip wasn't strong, but the way his fingers gently moved across hers felt like an intimate caress.Noelle couldn't help but tremble, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.But then Hendrix suddenly said, "Actually, even before we got married, I'd seen you many times."Noelle hadn't expected him to bring this up. She froze for a second. Then, she quickly said, "I know. Back then at college—""Not just at college. After I graduated, I went to see you,
"Who are you?"That was the first thing Noelle said when she opened her eyes.Hendrix had still been basking in the relief of her waking up, but the moment he heard those words, the expression on his face vanished completely."What did you say?" he asked, his voice slightly strained.Noelle didn't answer. She simply stared at him, confusion clear in her eyes.Hendrix clenched his fists tightly. Maybe it was because he had gone through something like this before that he was able to calm himself down quickly this time."I'm your husband. My name is Hendrix Freeman. Do you still remember your own name?" he asked."Husband?" Noelle frowned slightly. "As in—we're married?""Yes. And we have a daughter. Her name is Rosie. She's three years old. This is her picture."As he spoke, Hendrix started to pull up a photo on his phone.But Noelle quickly asked, "Then why don't I remember you?""You were injured. But don't worry. I'll get the doctor to take a look at you."As Hendrix moved
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