In the dungeon, the two men in lab coats had arrived at the cell Joanne and Renee were in."Joanne, come out!" The guard knocked on the iron bars and ordered icily.In the dark, Joanne smiled sadly and said to Renee, "Finally, my time has come."Renee had been feeling drowsy, but now, she was fully awake. "What is it? Where are you going?" "I will be reborn again.""Reborn?" Renee asked slowly. "Has that old man suddenly grown a conscience? Does he want to let you go?""Yeah, he wants to let me go." Joanna's smile became even sadder. She reached out and embraced Renee as she whispered, "Ms. Everheart, I'm glad I got to know you. If you get the chance, please say sorry to Mr. Hunt for me."Renee rolled her eyes and scoffed, "He lied to you and fooled you, but you want to apologize to him?""Yes, I've wronged him deeply. Many things aren't as they seem... I'm leaving." Joanne let Renee go hesitantly, then went out under the urging of the guard.Renee was still rooted to the spo
Liam barged in and held Renee's shoulders, asking anxiously."I'm fine. Go and save Joanne now. She's in great danger." Liam pressed the gun to the guard's head and demanded, "Where's Joanne?" "I'm not telling you anything, so you might as well kill me." The guard tilted his head and closed his eyes, refusing to give in."You!" Liam was greatly infuriated. The people in the fort had undergone high-intensity physical and mental training, so they were loyal to Benjamin and would never easily admit defeat."Maybe she's in the dismantling room," Amber said hesitantly. "I once heard from Mateo that anyone who betrays my dad will be sent to the dismantling room. Their body parts will then be dismantled and sold." "What?" Renee clenched her fists and snarled indignantly, "That old man is merciless!""Maybe that's why Joanne reported my dad. I didn't expect that... it would put her in such great danger." Amber kept her head low. She did not approve of some of Benjamin's actions, but
Both Renee and Liam looked for Joanne in every room, but even after ages of searching, they couldn't find the dismantling room Joanne was in.Suddenly, they heard a distressed cry from the most secluded corner in the southeast. "That sounds like Joanne!" Renee gasped, her face going pale."Let's go!" Liam held Renee's hand tightly. They got rid of all the people who blocked their path and ran towards the room the sound came from.The dismantling room was guarded too, but before Liam could use the gun in his hand, Renee kicked them away. She quickly picked up their weapons and shot the tightly closed door of the dismantling room, forcing the door open. The scene that greeted her was horrifying. Joanne was strapped to an operating table with both sides of her waist cut open, and a man in a lab coat was about to reach into the wounds to remove Joanne's kidneys. He looked up at the sudden intrusion, and his eyes grew wide. "Who... Who are you?" He took two steps back fearfully,
"We didn't do anything! Maybe the blood loss was too much." "Blood loss?" Renee's head began to ache, and she demanded, "What should we do now? Will she be okay?""You have to rush her to the hospital for a blood transfusion. If not... it'll be quite dangerous," the man in the white coat stammered. After all, she had such a big cut on her body, and it had bled profusely. In the past, all these men needed to do was cut open the body. They were never asked to sew up the injuries, so they weren't prepared for such emergencies. "I'm so sleepy. I want to sleep now..." Joanne's voice was practically a whisper, and her hold on Renee's hand grew weaker."No, Joanne, wake up! Don't fall asleep... Hold on just a little longer. I want to take you home so Quinton can meet you. He misses you very much, so don't fall asleep." Regardless of what Renee said, Joanne eventually lost consciousness.Liam patted Renee's shoulders gently to comfort her. "Boss, don't panic. What we need to do now is t
"Liam!" Amber's eyes turned watery as she rushed towards the man lying on the ground. She felt the breath leave her lungs, and her face went pale.Liam pushed away the man in a white coat on top of him and stretched his body. He sounded relaxed as he said softly, "Miss, stop crying. I'm still alive..." The people who had been shot were the two 'surgeons' in lab coats. Liam had hid behind them, so he had escaped unscathed.Renee was hiding in the dismantling room with Joanne, who had fainted. They did not come out for the time being."Master, you're a bit cruel to your disciple. If it weren't for these two, I would be dead by now," Liam said slowly, staring at the two dead men on the ground."How dare you fool me!" Furious, Benjamin ordered, "Aim your guns at him. Fire again!""No, you can't do that!" Amber spread her arms out wide as she stood before Liam, and said seriously, "Dad, it looks like you don't want your daughter anymore. Go ahead and fire. I’ll die with Liam." "Dam
Benjamin waved his hand and snarled, "Okay, I give up. I'll grant your wish." Amber opened her watery eyes. Smiling, she said, "Dad, I knew you weren't that cruel...""Don't get cocky. I'll let them go… on one condition." Benjamin stared at Liam fiercely, then sneered, "My daughter's willing to give up her life for you. It's obvious that she loves you very much, so I want you to promise to stay and marry her. If not, all of you can't leave the fort."Hearing that, Amber's face turned red and she protested, "Dad, you... Don't be like this. A marriage will only be happy if both parties love each other. You can't force people to marry like this!" Benjamin ignored Amber and stared at Liam intently. "What do you think? Are you willing to marry my daughter?" "I..." Frowning deeply, Liam looked conflicted and hesitant. His heart belonged to someone else, so naturally, he was unwilling to marry a woman he did not love. However, he was also afraid that he, Renee, and Joanne would end up
Renee left the fort with Joanne, and they soon arrived at a hospital in the city.Joanne was placed on a stretcher and pushed into a surgery room quickly."Doctor, please save her. You have to save her!" Renee begged pitifully as she followed them. They had gone through so much to save Joanne, and Liam had even been forced into a marriage; she did not want all their sacrifices to go to waste."We'll try our best," the doctor said solemnly, and then the door to the surgery room was closed.Exhausted and dejected, Renee sat down on a chair in the waiting area. Helplessness overwhelmed her, and she stared at the floor absently. She wanted to sleep in a nice, warm bed or rest her head on someone's shoulder.At that moment, she saw a pair of long legs striding aloofly towards her.The crisp suit set off the slimness of the man's legs, and it was clear that the person was tall and attractive.Renee raised her head and met the man's cold gaze. Her eyes were filled with tears, so her vi
"You're overthinking. I just told him that I didn't want to see my partner get his hands dirty. Surprisingly, Benjamin let you go. You guys must be pretty lucky.""Hmph, I know that you're not that kind." Renee looked away and ignored him. She glanced at the flickering lamp of the surgery room and recalled Joanne's final wish. Feeling angry, she turned to Stefan and glared at him fiercely. "You scumbag!"He stared at her incredulously. "What did I do to you now?" "It's not about what you did to me, it's about what you did to Joanne! You tricked her and manipulated her. You even watched her fall into the sea but didn’t save her. Calling you a scumbag is putting it lightly!"Renee's eyes turned watery, and she fought back tears. "Do you know how loyal she was towards you? She knew she was about to be killed, but her final wish was to meet you one last time. A scumbag like you doesn't deserve her loyalty!" Stefan's gaze was indifferent as he said cryptically, "You're not Joanne, s
Justin smiled and described the children's experiences, acting like a stepfather. When he talked about the children, he made it sound like they were his biological children. Stefan didn't look so good. He felt that the glass of wine was getting bitter."Well, I'm sure kids will find everything new and exciting when they go to a new place. But they'll get bored with it when time passes. They'll love their real home better." Stefan had wanted to act relaxed and casual, but he could not stop himself from refuting when he heard Justin's provocative words. "Mm?" Leia sat beside Liam and leaned against his arm, and whispered, "What are they doing? This is weird. Are they going to fight?""It's just a competition between men. They won't get into a fight." Liam kept eating and watching the fun. He merely found it amusing. As expected, Renee was greatly admired. Although she remained silent, she would always be in the limelight. Liam was amused to see people like Stefan or Justin
"How dare you!"Stefan's words instantly made Leia speechless. She had wanted to rebuke him, but he snatched the chance from her and struck her dumb.In short, he was an utter scumbag.After a moment, Leia finally managed to comment, "How shameless!" Justin had kept silent all the while. He looked at Stefan with a scrutinizing and mocking gaze. "Mr. Hunt, I admire your honesty and self-awareness. If that's the case, let's stop being reserved and have fun together!""Yes, let's have fun together. I'm shameless, too!" Liam joined in the effort to mock Stefan. He swayed his glass of wine and faked a smile. "I've known her a long time, so of course I know what shameless things Mr. Hunt has done. I think I'd better grab this chance to tell you all of them since everyone is here today."Standing at the door, Renee was worried that Liam might say more indecent things. She hurriedly stopped him. "Pipe down, Liam!" "Got it." Liam shrugged helplessly but obeyed her.Although he yea
"Do you want to leave?" Stefan saw Renee. He was calm, indifferent, and distant. His behavior stung Renee. Renee could easily recall their lovey-dovey memories. They had both risked their lives for each other and vowed to be together forever. They had two children, too. Yet, they ended up as strangers.Although Renee was heartbroken, she became competitive. She smoothed her hair and said in a similarly cold manner, "I'm going to the washroom." "Okay." Stefan did not have anything to say. He nodded and walked past Renee before heading to the dining table. "Hmph! I didn't expect you to come so boldly," Quinton sneered.At the sight of Stefan, Quinton subconsciously clenched his fists, acting like he was about to fight Stefan. On the surface, he wouldn't act aggressively because he knew Renee would stop him. "It's not easy for the few great families to get together. It's good and meaningful for us. If I refused to come, it would make me seem heartless."Stefan kept his co
Having said that, Renee lowered her head, about to leave. She didn't even have the time to bother about Adie and Abby, and told Quinton to take them home later. Her strange behavior filled Quinton with displeasure. He blocked Renee and said solemnly, "Are you afraid? Do you want to run away? People might think that you're guilty and have cheated on your husband!""No, I'm not!" Renee refuted him loudly, then explained seriously, "I'm busy. I need to handle something right away. Plus, I'm not guilty. I did nothing wrong. There's no reason for me to feel guilty." Quinton went straight to the point. "What are you afraid of since you know you're not guilty? Why do you want to run away? He should be afraid instead!""I told you. I'm not afraid of him. I'm just…" "What?" Quinton crossed his arms and looked at Renee coldly. He wanted to get to the bottom of it.Renee came up with a ridiculous yet normal excuse. "I… I recalled that the dessert shop that I want to head to is about to
Jovan called Stefan to sound the latter out. Anyway, it would be convenient for Stefan to rush over since they were both at the same spot. "I'll be right there," Stefan said. Then, he hung up.For a moment, silence washed over everyone, as if something terrible was about to happen.After taking in the new information, Leia said indignantly, "What's going on? Why does he want to come? Isn't he too shameless? How dare he come?" Although everything wasn't discussed openly, everyone knew why Stefan and Renee broke up all of a sudden, despite how lovey-dovey they were. The reason was that Stefan had cheated on Renee.Even if the adultery was faked, it was still the cause of their breakup. If Stefan were shameful or guilty, he wouldn't have agreed to come. He was going to face Renee there with their friends and family around. Certainly, it was embarrassing. "Hmph! Why not? He impersonated me, seized my business, and snatched away my woman. Plus, he led a steady life, got married
Jovan's words made the atmosphere quiet and bizarre. "Are you out of your mind, Jovan? It's already very annoying to have someone like you here. Do you have to get another annoying guy?" Leia frowned, crossing her arms. She kept scolding him.Initially, the atmosphere was considered harmonious. It was still considered fine even if there was an annoying person like Jovan. Unexpectedly, he wanted to call another, more terrible person to come here. Things would certainly go wrong. "Ms. Osborne, you're famous for talking harshly, too. You're just like me. I love it." However, Jovan was not mad at all. He grinned while waiting for Stefan to answer the call. Generally, Stefan would not answer Jovan's call. Surprisingly, he picked it up that time."What's the matter?" Jovan purposely put it on speaker mode. Stefan sounded aloof and emotionless.Jovan sounded wicked as he calmly asked Stefan, "Do you want to join a gathering, Stefan?""I'm going to hang up if you don't say anythi
In the past, Jovan had always regarded Stefan as a coward. Stefan couldn't forget about Renee, but he kept pushing Renee to another man. It seemed like Justin was more responsible, considerate, and gentle. Of course, Renee would lead a very happy, steady, and comfortable life with such a man. At the very least, Jovan felt that he could not be that meticulous and considerate. He would only drive Renee mad just to get her attention. "Hmph! Are you trying to humiliate me or yourself?" Justin didn't find that a compliment. Instead, it sounded like smockery. Jovan made it sound like Justin was a nice guy, but would not be picked by Renee. Usually, people like that had to suffer and would not end up well."I'm praising you." Jovan was helpless because of his reputation as the villain. Although he had said a lot of annoying things, he did want to compliment Justin. His love was probably as deep as Justin's, but his and Stefan's ways of loving Renee were much inferior to Justin's.
"That's unnecessary." Justin stood in front of Renee, his face cold. He said firmly, "She's unwell and can't have wine." "Is she unwell? I didn't see that." Jovan sized Renee up before he sized Justin up. Then, he sneered, "And who are you to her? You can't stop her from having wine.""It's none of your business who I am to her. I said she can't have wine." Justin always kept peace with others, but at that moment, he was dominant. He didn't always want to control Renee, but she had drunk a lot of wine that day. It might have hurt her belly. Hence, he felt it better for her to abstain from wine lately. However, Jovan was unaware of that affair. He simply found Justin purposely showing his ownership over Renee, which disgusted him."Waiter, get her a glass of milk. She only wants that," Justin instructed a waiter, showing his consideration for Renee. "It's okay. I can have a little wine. Plus, I'm rather good at drinking. It's not easy for everyone to get together tonight. I do
They danced for around ten minutes. Renee danced to the song heartily. Her initial gloomy mood also improved.Renee drank some water and took a few deep breaths. Then, she sincerely praised Leia, "Alright. Your welcome ceremony is bizarre, but it helped relieve my stress. I like it very much!"She could tell that Leia had painstakingly prepared that gift for her. After all, it was not easy to ask the Zambawi people from primitive tribes to sing an English song. "I'm glad you like it. I did this because I wanted you to relax and stop taking things seriously. You need to stop being so hard on yourself and get rid of all the pressure!" Leia said honestly. The Zambawi hand-drum dance came with the charms of a primitive dance. Its goal was to set people free. Of course, it was suitable for Renee to relieve her stress."Yeah, your stress is relieved. From now on, you'll start afresh. This is for you. I'm sure it'll be one of your happy memories." Liam handed the previous Polaroid to