로그인The two of them entered the bedroom. The familiar environment made Stefan feel as though he had stepped into his own room, and his gaze instinctively wandered around.As expected, the first thing he noticed was the antique painting by Henry Somerset hanging on the wall.His heart clenched instantly.That's because he had seen that painting before. In fact, he was still very young at the time."This painting…"Stefan walked up to it and examined it carefully. There was a troubled expression on his face."What's wrong? Don't tell me you've seen this painting too?" While booting up the computer, Renee glanced back curiously at him."It's an original by Henry Somerset. It's not strange that I've seen it before," Stefan answered vaguely before adding in a probing tone, "Since when were you interested in things like this? I remember you used to look down on antiques and paintings like these. You said they were only valuable because of nostalgia and hype."He still remembered when the
"What? The kids are missing?"Stefan frowned. His expression instantly turned grim.Just like Renee, the children were his weak spot. He could stay calm about almost anything else, but the moment the kids were involved, all reason went out the window."I got tied up with something unexpected today. I naively thought maybe since Joanne was acting normal again, it'd be fine to let her pick up the kids. When I got home…"Renee crouched on the floor. She bit her lip as her body trembled uncontrollably with fear.The old Renee had feared nothing. She used to be the freest, boldest woman in the world. But ever since becoming a mother, she had become timid. Every decision was made cautiously. The slightest hint of trouble would make her panic. She had become an ordinary woman and an ordinary mother."You…"Stefan's first instinct was to blame her. Just like Quinton, he believed Joanne was far too unstable, and that the kids should never have been left in her care. However, seeing h
When Renee arrived at Everheart Manor, the entire house was dark. There was nobody inside."Joanne! Abby! Adie!"Renee instantly went on high alert. She quickly checked everywhere inside and out while calling out their names.The only thing that answered her was silence.That kind of silence had never existed before. Normally, before she even stepped through the door, her two kids would already be bouncing around waiting to greet her.That meant Joanne and the kids definitely weren't home. Where could they have gone?At this hour, they couldn't still be out playing.Renee took a deep breath to calm herself. With a trembling hand, she retrieved her phone and dialed Joanne's number.Unfortunately, it was the same silence in Everheart Manor that responded to her.At that moment, panic completely took over. She didn't dare call Quinton because he had repeatedly warned her not to let Joanne bring the kids out alone.Now, something had actually gone wrong. Quinton would kill her if
Chase looked confused. "I know the painting is valuable since it's Somerset's authentic artwork, but it's not valuable enough for both you and the boss to care this much. He even wants to dig into everyone who's ever owned it. It's way too unusual."As far as he remembered, Quinton had never cared about paintings or antiques. The only thing that interested him was how much profit they could bring. He never asked about their history or their previous owners."I can't really explain it, either. Maybe this painting just has some strange connection to the Everheart family. The first time I saw it, I was very young. My mother kept it hidden in a secret place. She would stare at it for long periods of time."Renee drifted into memory. She often caught her mother standing silently in front of the painting. She would trace every brushstroke as if holding a wordless conversation with someone.The moment she noticed Renee or anyone else approaching, she would immediately put the painting a
When Chase felt Renee's fingers brush against his skin, he visibly froze for a second. He then awkwardly pulled away and took a sip of coffee to hide his unease."Ms. Everheart, you're overthinking this. There's really no need to worry. I believe the boss has his own reasons."Chase knew where to draw the line. He was very careful with what he said.Hearing that only irritated Renee more. She frowned. "Chase, I know you're loyal to my brother, but your blind loyalty isn't doing him any good. You know better than anyone how extreme he can be, don't you?""You've misunderstood him. His temperament has improved a lot. When he makes decisions now, he considers things from multiple angles. He's not as hot-headed as he used to be!"Chase defended Quinton almost immediately.It came from his observation of Quinton over time.With Renee's companionship and guidance, Quinton had stopped being the impulsive, hot-tempered, and extreme man he used to be.He could even see that Quinton had
Chase nodded and walked over to Renee. "Ms. Everheart, if there isn't anything else, I'll take you to the lounge to rest. The boss still has other matters to handle."Renee looked at him in surprise. "Chase, what's wrong with you? Didn't you hear what Quinton just said? He's planning to go back to doing dangerous, illegal things! Weren't you always against Carmine Pawnshop heading in that direction? You should be helping me talk him out of it, not blindly going along with him!"She still remembered how, when Stefan had been posing as the owner of Carmine Pawnshop, he'd cleaned up many of the business' shady dealings. Chase had played a big role in that. He had been a true believer in Stefan's ideals and carried them out faithfully.Later, when Quinton returned and exposed Stefan's deception, Chase decided to stand by Quinton. Even so, he had secretly adhered to Stefan's ideologies behind the scenes. He slowly guided Quinton toward that same business model even at the risk of angerin
"Do your parents know? You can't make this decision impulsively. If your parents say no, the internal fight of the company might cause conflict in the family. Have you considered the consequences?" Elijah patiently tried to persuade Stefan to rethink his decision. He didn't object to Stefan's retrea
"You want me to do something?" Renee smiled mysteriously, then told Xavier, "If I were you, I'd seek justice for Leia whether or not it had anything to do with Shirley. Your beloved was humiliated, but instead of fighting for her, you wanted her to compromise. It means you don't love her at all.""Re
God was fair—if one thing was lacking, something else would be provided. If one had too many things, God would take some away. It was the same case with Leia. She was born into a very loving family with parents and a twin brother who doted on her. The luckiest thing in her life was that she had a be
If Jovan managed to bribe Timothy, Stefan would have less power in the Hunt family, and would be considered inferior to Jovan. Stefan's head started to hurt at the thought of it, but he didn't tell Renee about it because he didn't want her to suffer with him. "It's more than enough to have you and t







