MasukAfter thanking the officers, Louis checked the time—it was already half past nine.“Let’s head home. The temperature’s dropping; I don’t want anyone catching a cold.”Marcus stood still, muttering under his breath, “But Loraine’s favorite singer hasn’t even gone on yet…”Louis turned sharply toward
“He said he was thirsty, so I went to buy him a drink. I clearly told him not to move and when I got back, he was gone!”Loraine’s face went pale with worry. “Let’s look for him right now! I saw security guards and some police officers earlier. We can ask them for help!”The three of them forgot all
Mason, the quieter and more composed one, simply listened to the music, occasionally nodding along to the rhythm.The youngest, Manuel, was too short to see the stage at all, swallowed up by the crowd and left with nothing but the thundering music pounding in his ears.Before long, he got restless.
“Marcus, every time you sneak out, you use the same excuse,” Manuel said, crossing his arms. “Can’t you at least come up with something new?”Marcus froze. Loraine quickly jumped in with a smile. “Manuel, we really do have something serious to take care of this time. It’s boring stuff. You’d have w
“Raine, look, your fingers need to lift here, then drop cleanly. Watch my hand when I play.”In the Walker family’s grand music room, young Mason was patiently teaching Loraine how to play the piano.Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, half spilling over the glossy surface of the hundred-tho
Grace tried to lift her head, but she was too weak to manage even that small movement.A nurse quickly stepped forward and raised the head of the bed so that Grace only needed to lower her gaze to see the tiny baby in Laura’s arms.“A daughter… girls are so sweet,” Grace murmured, the words faint bu
Adora took a deep breath, her voice distant and low. “You’re right. I can’t forget. Even when I force myself not to think about it during the day… I still see it in my dreams.”In truth, part of her still felt grateful to that boy.Yes, his family had bought her, but he hadn’t planned any of it. Ev
"Can I ask what the money’s for?""To buy out the Matthews Corporation."Adora’s voice was calm, but her eyes were icy and resolute."I want to leave them with nothing. They need to pay for what they’ve done."Louis nodded slowly."I’m with you. But Theodore’s no fool—he’s a seasoned player. He won’
Adora let out a cold laugh. "Well, that’s the most honest thing you’ve said all night."Ruby fell silent.Since she had already confessed, Adora seized the moment to drag everything else into the light."You said I had HIV, claimed I had a baby with some old man, and that the child was deformed and
Ruby knew exactly what was going on.Her parents hadn’t kicked her out because they still hoped to squeeze some last bit of usefulness out of her.Of course, if they could convince Adora to come back into the fold, then Ruby, as the adopted daughter, would be obsolete.But the problem was, Adora had







