Beatrice stood nearby, her voice filled with surprise when she heard what Hendrix said. "You have news about Noelle? Where is she?""Creston. I'm going to bring her back now," Hendrix replied."Who told you this? Why would she be in Creston? And why hasn't she contacted you all this time? Is this information reliable?" Beatrice remained calm, firing off several questions in a row.But Hendrix didn't have time to explain. "I'm heading to Creston now. Just take good care of Rosie.""Wait. What if it's a scam? Hendrix!" Beatrice tried to stop him, but he didn't even break his stride.By the time she ran outside, he was already in the car.A scam? There was indeed a possibility that Dylan was lying to him just to buy time. There could be people waiting for Hendrix in Creston, ready to kill him as soon as he arrived. But so what?It had been so long since Noelle vanished without a trace. No one knew how Hendrix had made it through this time. For the first time, Hendrix understood wha
The plane landed safely. Hendrix then drove himself to Creston.The journey took five or six hours, but he didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue. He had considered bringing someone with him, but Dylan had insisted he come alone. Otherwise, all he would find was Noelle's corpse.Hendrix didn't want to take that risk. He couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to Noelle. Besides, he had already made arrangements for what would come after. If he really died there, Dylan wouldn't survive, either.Once Dylan was gone, the people backing him would lose their support, and they would have no choice but to release Noelle. That was if Noelle was still alive.But if something had already happened to her, then it was only right for him to join her in death. He knew this was irresponsible of him—especially toward Beatrice and Rosie, and just when Rosie had finally started to warm up to him.But before he was a son or a father, Hendrix was first and foremost himself—and Noelle's husb
So, had something really happened to Noelle? Was she really dead?No, that couldn't be possible. But if she wasn't, then why couldn't Hendrix find a single trace of her? Even when he had already exhausted all his connections and resources. And more importantly, if she were still alive, how could she not send him even the slightest message?This was a possibility Hendrix had considered before, but he had never been able to accept it.Now, his worst fears had been confirmed. The one thing that had kept him going all this time crumbled in an instant. He stood frozen, unable to react.At that moment, the men charged at him, their weapons aimed directly at him.Even though he had gone stiff and no longer had the will to live, Hendrix instinctively raised his arm as the blade came down.The blade struck his arm, and the sharp pain snapped him back to reality. He kicked the man in front of him away. Then, he opened the car door and got inside without hesitation."Don't let him escape!"
To avoid his superiors blaming him for Hendrix losing too much blood, Jerry had him taken to his office. As he questioned Hendrix, he also tended to his wound.Just as he finished, officers returned from the scene with two more people in tow."What are you doing? We're completely legal! I even gave her mother a wedding gift! Why are you bringing me to the station?" the man kept shouting angrily as he walked in.Jerry frowned and turned to his colleague. "What's going on?""Oh, the courthouse reported them," the colleague explained. "They were there to register their marriage today, but the bride's ID didn't match her. The age didn't line up, either. "Plus, she couldn't remember her full name and seemed a bit off. The courthouse staff suspected human trafficking, so they called us."As the colleague spoke, Jerry glanced at the two newcomers.He noticed that the woman was quite beautiful. Though she was dressed in rough clothes and her hair was disheveled, her tanned skin and del
But in the end, Hendrix still managed to finish his sentence. Even Jerry couldn't help but be moved by the sight of him. He quickly nodded and said, "Don't worry. I'll definitely help you. I mean, this is our duty, after all. So, you can rest assured!"As he spoke, he signaled to his colleague to print out the photo of Noelle from Hendrix's phone.When Jerry saw the photo again, he furrowed his brows slightly. He couldn't help but feel like he had seen the woman in the photo somewhere before. But he couldn't remember where."Captain Ortiz?" someone beside him called out cautiously.Only then did Jerry snap out of it and realize Hendrix was still in the office."Oh, right. This way, please, Mr. Freeman. I'll take you to the hotel now.""Thank you." Hendrix nodded at him.Jerry smiled and opened the office door for him.Meanwhile, the man who had just been brought in was still arguing. "It's not like that. We're really getting married out of our own free will. We're from the sa
Hendrix's phone continued to ring. Beside him, Jerry was still rambling about something. The man sitting next to her was speaking animatedly, trying to explain himself.But all those sounds faded into nothing for Hendrix. His vision narrowed to only the woman in front of him. She was sitting beside the man, wearing a rough but clean white shirt, her hair tied into a low ponytail.Hendrix was actually standing quite far from her. But the woman's figure was etched into his mind. His breathing grew rapid, his hands clenched, and even his shoulders began to tremble slightly."Mr. Freeman?" Jerry had been talking the whole time. But when he realized Hendrix hadn't responded, he couldn't help but call out to him.Hendrix didn't answer. He just stood there, staring intently at the woman."Mr. Freeman, are you—" Jerry wanted to say more, but Hendrix had already started walking toward her.At first, his steps were hesitant, stiff, and slow. But then, his pace quickened.By the time he re
"His wife? No, this is my wife. We're going to register our marriage today. Her mother has already accepted the wedding gift!" The man's voice grew louder.Hendrix snapped back to the present. Slowly, he turned to look at Noelle, as if waiting for her to explain. But she wouldn't even meet his gaze.She didn't seem the least bit happy at seeing him again. Instead, she was trying to pry his fingers off her in a bid to free herself."Noelle," Hendrix called her name. "What are you doing?"But she gave him no response.Hendrix clenched his teeth, and he was about to pull her closer to question her when Noelle screamed, "Let me go!"Her sharp voice forced Hendrix to release his grip. Noelle immediately stepped back and hid behind the man."See? She doesn't know you at all. So like I said, she's not your wife. I think you're just trying to take advantage of my wife because she's pretty! You might look decent on the surface, but you're nothing but a shameless scumbag!"The man was fu
"Isn't there a hospital nearby?" Hendrix asked, his impatience creeping into his voice. "A DNA test would settle this, wouldn't it?""Yes, that's right." Jerry finally remembered this option and immediately arranged for someone to take them to the hospital.But Sid wasn't having it. "No way! You're all in on this! Don't think I don't see what's going on—you're just sucking up to this guy because he's rich. And when the results come back, you'll make sure they say whatever he wants!""Mr. Hodge, please watch what you're saying." Jerry's expression darkened. "Do you even realize where you are and what you're saying?""I—whatever! You're all in this together. We're leaving right now!"With that, Sid grabbed Noelle's hand and was about to pull her away when Hendrix stood up."Let go of her hand," he said icily."This has nothing to do with you! I'm telling you. They might suck up to you, but I'm not afraid of you! You can—""Mr. Hodge, if you insist on leaving now, we can charge yo
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
As Dylan spoke, his teeth clenched tighter. It was unclear whether he was trying to convince Noelle or himself.Noelle remained silent, quietly watching him.After staring at her for a while, Dylan suddenly laughed. "So, do you know why we were celebrating tonight?"Noelle shook her head."Because we stole Fuer Fund's opportunity! It's all thanks to the plan you sent me before. Now, no matter what Fuer Fund does next, we'll know about it. "George is really happy, too. He used to doubt my abilities, worried that I'd drag down his fund, but you should've seen how he treated me tonight."Not just him, but the whole industry now recognizes me. I've finally established myself here!"Dylan's voice grew more excited as he spoke.Noelle, however, remained calm.The only sign of change was when she heard that he succeeded because of the plan she had given him—her brow slightly lifted. But it was just for a moment.She quickly regained her calm and nodded.Her reaction made Dylan fro
George didn't care about being cautious. He was too excited. He had clashed with Fuer Fund a few times before, but when faced with absolute power, he had barely gotten any scraps from the table.Now, to be able to seize such a large slice of the pie from Fuer Fund and force them to back off, how could George not be thrilled?Thus, the drinks kept coming, one after another.Even if Dylan hadn't planned on getting drunk, it was hard to refuse the goodwill of so many people. In the end, he was thoroughly drunk.When he returned to the apartment, his steps were unsteady. Seeing the light still on inside, he paused for a moment. Then, he suddenly remembered he didn't live alone anymore. Noelle also lived with him now.Though Dylan was well aware, and his rational mind reminded him repeatedly that he had essentially kept her here as a hostage. If Hendrix made any further moves, he would have no choice but to kill her.But when he saw the light she had left on for him, Dylan couldn't he